1. 1. At all elections, except as otherwise permitted by this section, the polls shall be opened at 7:00 a.m. if at least one official from each of the political parties referred to in section 49.13 is present. On the basis of voter turnout for recent similar elections and factors considered likely to so affect voter turnout for the forthcoming election as to justify shortened voting hours for that election, the commissioner may direct that the polls be opened at 12:00 noon for:

   1. a. Any election conducted for a benefited district.
   2. b. Any election conducted for the unincorporated area of a county.
2. 2. All polling places where the candidates of or any public question submitted by any one political subdivision are being voted upon shall be opened at the same hour. The hours at which the respective precinct polling places are to open shall not be changed after publication of the notice required by section 49.53. The polling places shall be closed at 8:00 p.m. for all elections.

Subsection 2, paragraph b repealed by its own terms effective July 1, 2025, and former paragraph a redesignated as an unnumbered paragraph; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §36

[C51, §251; R60, §486; C73, §611; C97, §1096, 2751, 2754, 2756; S13, §1087-a6, 1096, 2754, 2756; C24, 27, §565, 791, 4202, 4211; C31, 35, §565, 791, 4216-c9; C39, §565, 791, 4216.09; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §43.37, 49.73, 277.9; C75, 77, 79, 81, §49.73] 94 Acts, ch 1180, §13; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §37, 38, 115; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §11, 19; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §97; 2009 Acts, ch 138, §1; 2017 Acts, ch 155, §25, 26, 44; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §36, 73; 2021 Acts, ch 174, §10, 34, 37

Referred to in §53.2