Chapter 16

How to vote

Getting registered, the deadlines, the three ways to vote, what ID to bring, primaries, and what happens after you vote, for any election in Iowa.

The next election

Iowa’s next regular election is the city and school election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Register by October 18, 2027 (or at the polls), and early voting starts October 13, 2027.¹

Save your address to see your precinct, the polling place on file and your sample ballot.

1. Am I registered?

You can register if you’re a U.S. citizen, live in Iowa, and are 18 by election day. You can register at 17, and vote in a primary if you’ll be 18 by the general election.² If you’ve moved or changed your name, update your registration the same ways.

Check. The Secretary of State’s “Am I registered?” lookup shows whether you’re on the list and where.
Online. With an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID, register through the Iowa DOT. You’ll need your license or ID number, your date of birth and the last digits of your Social Security number.
On paper. Print the voter registration form, fill it out, and mail it or drop it off at your county auditor’s office.
On election day. Register at your polling place with a photo ID and, if the ID doesn’t show your current address, a document that does: a lease, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, property tax statement or government check or letter, dated within the last 45 days.³

2. The deadlines

For the city and school election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Every regular election follows the same countdown.

August 24, 2027The county auditor starts taking absentee ballot requests: 70 days before.⁴
October 13, 2027Early voting starts at the county auditor’s office, and mailed ballots start going out: 20 days before.⁵
October 18, 2027Registration deadline. 5 p.m. at the county auditor’s office; online through the Iowa DOT until 11:59 p.m.; a mailed form counts if it’s postmarked by that day. Absentee ballot requests must reach the auditor by 5 p.m. too.⁶
November 1, 2027Last day to vote early in person.
November 2, 2027Election day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A mailed ballot must reach the auditor before the polls close.⁷

3. Three ways to vote

On election day

At your polling place

Vote at the polling place for your precinct, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. It can change from one election to the next, so look it up each time.

Up to 20 days before

Early, in person

Vote at your county auditor’s office during business hours. Some counties also open satellite voting sites; the auditor posts where and when. Bring the same ID as at the polls.

Request it first

By mail

Send the auditor an absentee ballot request (your county auditor or the Secretary of State has the form). You’ll need your Iowa driver’s license or ID number, or the four-digit PIN on your voter ID card.⁸

Returning a mailed ballot

Mail it, hand it in at the county auditor’s office, or use the auditor’s drop box if your county has one. It has to reach the auditor before the polls close on election day; a postmark isn’t enough. Polling places don’t take mailed ballots. You, someone you live with, or a close family member can return it; if you’re blind or have a disability, you can name someone to deliver it.⁹ Track your ballot.

4. ID

At the polls and when you vote early in person, you’ll be asked for one of these:¹⁰

An Iowa driver’s license or Iowa non-operator ID
A U.S. passport
A U.S. military or veteran ID
A tribal ID with a photo, signature and expiration date
Your Iowa voter ID card, signed. It’s free: registered voters without an Iowa license or non-operator ID are issued one automatically. Ask your county auditor if you need one.¹¹

No ID from that list? The photo ID and proof-of-address documents that work for registering on election day work here too.

No more vouching. Since July 1, 2026, another voter can no longer swear to who you are if you’re registered and don’t have ID.¹²

Still no ID? You can vote a provisional ballot. For it to count, show ID at the county auditor’s office by noon on the Monday after the election.¹³

5. Primaries

Iowa’s June primaries are closed: you vote in the primary of the party you’re registered with. But you can change parties or pick one at the polls on primary day, and then vote in that party’s primary.¹⁴

No party? You can still vote in a primary by choosing a party at the polls. You can change your registration back afterward.
In November and in city and school elections, you don’t pick a party’s ballot: everyone in your precinct votes on the same races.
How nominees are picked, and the 35% rule: Elections, explained.

6. What’s on your ballot

Your ballot depends on exactly where you live: your districts, your city or township, your school district. Look before you go:

Your sample ballot: the races and questions for your address.
Local ballot measures: bonds, levies and other local questions, in plain words.
Constitutional amendments: changes to the Iowa Constitution that go to voters.
Judges: Iowa judges aren’t elected at first, but voters decide whether to keep each one, a yes-or-no “retention” vote, in general elections. Elections and results.

7. After you vote

1
Check your ballot arrived
Voted by mail? The Secretary of State’s ballot tracker shows when the auditor got it.
2
Election night
Counties report unofficial results through the night. Iowa Funnel’s results follow them.
3
The canvass
Each county’s board of supervisors checks and approves the count, usually the Tuesday after the election, including provisional ballots that were cleared.¹⁵
4
Recounts
Only in very close races. A candidate can ask in writing by 5 p.m. the day after the county canvass, if they lost by less than 1% or 50 votes, whichever is smaller (less than 0.15% for statewide and federal offices). For a ballot question, voters can petition within three days of the canvass on the same kind of margin.¹⁶

Official lookups

These are the Secretary of State’s and the Iowa DOT’s own pages. Iowa Funnel doesn’t see what you enter there.

Check yourself

Pick an answer to see how you did. Nothing is saved.

1. When does voter registration close at the county auditor’s office?

At noon, 10 days before the election

Not quite. Registration closes at 5 p.m. fifteen days before (§48A.9). Online through the Iowa DOT, you have until 11:59 p.m. that day.

At midnight, the day before the election

Not quite. Registration closes at 5 p.m. fifteen days before (§48A.9). Online through the Iowa DOT, you have until 11:59 p.m. that day.

At 5 p.m., 15 days before the election

Right. Registration closes at 5 p.m. fifteen days before (§48A.9). Online through the Iowa DOT, you have until 11:59 p.m. that day.

2. You missed the registration deadline. Can you still vote on election day?

Yes: register at your polling place with ID and proof of address

Right. Iowa has election-day registration at your polling place, with a photo ID and, if it doesn’t show your address, a recent document that does (§48A.7A).

Only by mail, and only if the county auditor says yes

Not quite. Iowa has election-day registration at your polling place, with a photo ID and, if it doesn’t show your address, a recent document that does (§48A.7A).

No: you have to wait for the next election to come around

Not quite. Iowa has election-day registration at your polling place, with a photo ID and, if it doesn’t show your address, a recent document that does (§48A.7A).

3. When must a mailed absentee ballot reach the county auditor?

It only needs an election-day postmark

Not quite. It has to arrive before the polls close; a postmark isn’t enough (§53.17).

Within a week after election day

Not quite. It has to arrive before the polls close; a postmark isn’t enough (§53.17).

Before the polls close on election day

Right. It has to arrive before the polls close; a postmark isn’t enough (§53.17).

4. How early can you vote in person at the county auditor’s office before a general election?

Up to 29 days before

Not quite. Early in-person voting starts 20 days before a primary or general election and runs through the day before (§53.10).

Up to 45 days before

Not quite. Early in-person voting starts 20 days before a primary or general election and runs through the day before (§53.10).

Up to 20 days before

Right. Early in-person voting starts 20 days before a primary or general election and runs through the day before (§53.10).

5. How far ahead does the county auditor start taking absentee ballot requests?

70 days before the election

Right. Requests are accepted from 70 days before, and must arrive by 5 p.m. on the registration deadline (§53.2).

30 days before the election

Not quite. Requests are accepted from 70 days before, and must arrive by 5 p.m. on the registration deadline (§53.2).

120 days before the election

Not quite. Requests are accepted from 70 days before, and must arrive by 5 p.m. on the registration deadline (§53.2).

6. You’re registered but forgot your ID. Since July 1, 2026, what can you do?

Have another registered voter in your precinct vouch for you

Not quite. House File 2501 ended vouching for registered voters. A provisional ballot counts if you show ID at the auditor’s office by noon on the Monday after (§49.81).

Sign a statement at the table and vote a regular ballot

Not quite. House File 2501 ended vouching for registered voters. A provisional ballot counts if you show ID at the auditor’s office by noon on the Monday after (§49.81).

Vote a provisional ballot and show ID by noon the next Monday

Right. House File 2501 ended vouching for registered voters. A provisional ballot counts if you show ID at the auditor’s office by noon on the Monday after (§49.81).

7. Who gets a free Iowa voter ID card?

Registered voters without an Iowa license or non-operator ID

Right. Registered voters who don’t have an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID are issued one at no charge (§48A.10A).

Only voters who apply in person at the Statehouse

Not quite. Registered voters who don’t have an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID are issued one at no charge (§48A.10A).

Every registered voter who is 65 or older, on request

Not quite. Registered voters who don’t have an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID are issued one at no charge (§48A.10A).

8. You’re registered with no party. Can you vote in a June primary?

Yes: choose a party at the polls and vote in its primary

Right. Any registered voter can change or declare a party at the polls on primary day (§43.42).

Yes: you get a ballot with every party’s candidates

Not quite. Any registered voter can change or declare a party at the polls on primary day (§43.42).

No: primaries are only for people already in a party

Not quite. Any registered voter can change or declare a party at the polls on primary day (§43.42).

9. What are the hours at the polls on election day?

6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Not quite. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (§49.73).

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Right. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (§49.73).

8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Not quite. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (§49.73).

10. Who can return your mailed ballot for you?

Anyone at all, as long as they sign for it

Not quite. You, someone in your household or an immediate family member can return it; if you’re blind or have a disability, a delivery agent you name can too (§53.33).

Someone you live with or a close family member

Right. You, someone in your household or an immediate family member can return it; if you’re blind or have a disability, a delivery agent you name can too (§53.33).

A volunteer from any campaign that offers

Not quite. You, someone in your household or an immediate family member can return it; if you’re blind or have a disability, a delivery agent you name can too (§53.33).

Keep reading

Elections, explained →

Who’s on the ballot, primaries, special elections, and how results become official.

Notes

Worked out from Iowa’s election calendar and the Iowa Code. A special election can come sooner, and your county auditor has the final word on dates. ↩
Iowa Code §48A.5. ↩
Iowa Code §48A.7A(1). Photo IDs that work for registering: an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID, an out-of-state driver’s license or ID, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military or veteran ID, an employer ID, an Iowa high school or college student ID, or a tribal ID, each current and with an expiration date. That section also still lets a registered voter in your precinct swear to who you are and where you live when you register on election day; House File 2501 (2026) ended vouching for voters who were already registered (see ID, below) but didn’t change this section. Ask your county auditor before you count on it. ↩
Iowa Code §53.2(1). A request that arrives earlier is sent back. ↩
Iowa Code §53.10 and §53.8. That’s for primary and general elections. For other elections, early voting starts as soon as the ballots are ready, but never more than 20 days before. ↩
Iowa Code §48A.9 (registration) and §53.2 (absentee requests). After this, you can still register in person: at the auditor’s office while early voting is open, or at your polling place on election day. ↩
Iowa Code §49.73 (hours; a few small special district elections can open at noon) and §53.17(2) (when a ballot must arrive). ↩
Iowa Code §53.2(4) calls this the voter verification number. ↩
Iowa Code §53.17 (how a ballot can be returned, and that it must arrive before the polls close) and §53.33 (who can return it: you, a member of your household, an immediate family member, or a delivery agent you name if you can’t return it yourself because you’re blind or have a disability). ↩
Iowa Code §49.78(2) and (3). ↩
Iowa Code §48A.10A. ↩
House File 2501 (2026), Division VII, struck Iowa Code §49.78(4) and (5), which let a registered voter in your precinct sign an oath for you. It was signed May 2, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026. The bill on Iowa Funnel. ↩
Iowa Code §49.78(7) and §49.81(6). For an election whose votes are canvassed sooner, the deadline is the canvass. ↩
Iowa Code §43.42. Before the registration deadline you can also change it in writing with your county auditor (§43.41). Neither section was changed in 2025 or 2026. ↩
Iowa Code §50.24 (the canvass, on the first Tuesday after most elections). ↩
Iowa Code §50.48 (candidates) and §50.49 (ballot questions, as House File 2501 changed it in 2026: at least ten voters, or 1% of the votes cast on the question if that’s more, must sign). ↩

Sources: The Iowa Code (2026) and House File 2501 (2026), from the Iowa Legislature; the Iowa Secretary of State; the Iowa Department of Transportation.