Upcoming Elections
2010 Primary Election: 06/8/10
2010 General Election: 11/2/10
Visit Secretary of State's website for 2009 County, City or School Election calendars.
Polling Place Hours: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Voter Registration Information
Click here for an Iowa Voter Registration Guide created by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and its pro bono law firm partners.
Registration Deadlines
As of Januray 1, 2008, voters may register up to, and on election day.
In Iowa voters may pre-register no later than 10 days before general and primary elections and no later than 11 days before all other elections.
Identification Required for Registration
The registration form will ask you to provide one of the following:
- A current and valid Iowa driver's license number
- A current and valid Iowa nonoperator's identification card number
- The last four numerals of your social security number.
A voter registration application without an Iowa driver's license number, an Iowa nonoperator's identification card number, or the last four digits of your social security number shall not be processed. If your application is not processed, you will be notified. If you do not have an Iowa driver's license number, an Iowa nonoperator's identification number, or a social security number, notify the registrar of such shall and you will be assigned a unique identifying number that shall serve to identify you for voter registration purposes.
Registration After the Deadline for Registration
At any time before Election Day, if you appear in person at the commissioner's office or at a satellite absentee voting station after the deadline for registration, you may register to vote and vote an absentee ballot. To do so, you must complete a voter registration application, make a written oath, and provide proof of identity and residence.
- You may establish identity and residence by providing one of the following, provided such identification contains your photo and an expiration date:
- A current and valid Iowa driver's license or Iowa nonoperator's identification card
- An out-of-state driver's license or nonoperator's identification card.
- A United States passport.
- A United States military identification card.
- An identification card issued by an employer.
- A student identification card issued by an Iowa high school or an Iowa postsecondary educational institution.
- If the photo identification presented does not contain your current address in the precinct, you shall also present one of the following documents that shows your name and address in the precinct:
- Residential lease.
- Property tax statement.
- Utility bill.
- Bank statement.
- Paycheck.
- Government check.
- Other government document.
- You may establish identity and residency in the precinct by written oath of a person who is registered to vote in the precinct.
Election Day Registration
- If you are eligible to register to vote and to vote, you may register on Election Day by appearing in person at the polling place for the precinct in which you live and by following the above procedure.
How to Check Registration
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Vsit the Iowa Secretary of State's Voter Registeration Loookup webpage.
Contact your County Auditor
Voting Information
Identification Required to Vote
If you register by mail and have not previously voted in a federal election in the county of registration, you will be required to provide identification documents when voting for the first time in the county unless you provided on the registration form your Iowa driver's license number, or your Iowa nonoperator's identification card number, or the last four numerals of your social security number. If you vote in person at the polls, or by absentee ballot at the commissioner's office or at a satellite voting station, you must provide a current and valid photo identification card, or one of the following current documents that shows your name and address:
- Utility bill.
- Bank statement.
- Paycheck.
- Government check.
- Other government document.
If you vote with an absentee ballot by mail, you must provide a photocopy of one of these documents when returning the absentee ballot.
How to Find Your Polling Place
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Visit the Iowa Secretary of State's Polling Place Search tool online.
Contact your County Auditor
Absentee Voting
Click here to visit GoVoteAbsentee.org, a resource for absentee voters.
Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot at any election:
- When, during the time the polls are open on Election Day, the voter expects to be absent from the precinct in which he/she is a registered voter.
- When, through illness or physical disability, the voter expects to be prevented from going to the polls and voting on Election Day.
- When the voter expects to be unable to go to the polls and vote on Election Day.
Download the Absentee Ballot Application here.
Rules and Deadlines:
- Voters requesting absentee ballots by mail may submit a request at anytime before an election but must do so by 5 p.m. the Friday before the election.
- On Election Day, voters who have been issued an absentee ballot but have not yet returned their absentee ballot to their county auditor have the following options:
- The voter may deliver the ballot to the county auditor's office before the polls close on Election Day.
- The voter can "surrender" the absentee ballot at the polling place for the precinct in which the voter is registered to vote. The voter will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot at the polling place.
- If a voter cannot "surrender" the absentee ballot at the polling place, the voter will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot.
- If returned by mail, the ballot must be clearly postmarked by the day before the election by an officially authorized postal service and received by the county auditor's office no later than noon on the Monday following the election.
Early Voting
Early voting is available in Iowa beginning 40 days before an election.
Early voting is completed by casting an absentee ballot. Voters may cast absentee ballots at county auditors' offices prior to any election. Voters cannot take the ballot home. The county auditors' offices are open on the two Saturdays directly preceding all Primary and General elections. On Election Day, voters may not vote by absentee ballot at their county auditor's office unless the polls do not open until noon for that election. In that case, voters may cast absentee ballots at their auditor's office from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Election Day.
Some county auditors use satellite absentee voting stations to provide absentee voting at places other than the auditor's office. The voter must mark the ballot at the station and leave it with the officials. All satellite stations must be accessible to people with disabilities.
The auditor is not required to set up satellite stations. Voters may request satellite absentee voting stations by filing petitions with the county auditor. To find out whether satellite stations are planned for any election, contact your county auditor.
Information For People who have Moved or Changed Addresses
If you have moved within the same PRECINCT and have not updated your address for voter registration purposes you should go to the appropriate polling place for that precinct. If the voter registration list still lists your old address, you will be asked to update their registration. If the updated address is within the precinct, then you must be permitted to vote.
If you have moved to a different precinct within the same COUNTY and have not updated your address for voter registration purposes, you should go to the new polling location that corresponds to your new address and update the registration by completing a new voter registration application using the new residence address. You will be required to present acceptable evidence to prove you new residence address.
If you have moved from one county to another and have not updated your address for voter registration purposes, you should go to the new polling place that corresponds to your new address in your NEW COUNTY and update the registration by completing a new voter registration application using the new residence address. You will be required to present the forms of identification required to register to vote, including proof of your new address.
Information for People with Felony Convictions
If you have been convicted of a felony or an offense classified as a felony under federal law, you may not register to vote or vote. If your rights are later restored by the Governor or the President of the United States, you may register and vote.
For more information, go to the Secretary of State's website.
