Are 
YOU ready to vote? The Secretary of State’s office has a website that can answer many VOTER READY IOWA questions! There are a record number of Iowans planning to take advantage of early voting this year as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Early voting has begun, and we can vote early by mail or in person or waiting and going to the polls on Nov. 3.
Here are some things to know:
Are you registered? You can check on the Secretary of State’s website.
In order to receive an absentee ballot, voters must make sure their county auditor receives their request by 5 p.m. on Oct. 24, 10 days before the election. So if you plan to vote by mail request that ballot as soon as possible! And don’t worry if you have received several ballot request forms this year from various entities –the Secretary of State says you will only receive ONE ballot even if you accidentally mail in more than one form.
To be counted, an absentee ballot must be received by the county auditor by the time polls close on Election Day or be postmarked by the day before the election and received by the auditor by noon on the Monday following the election. Election officials are encouraging Iowans to return their ballots as soon as they make up their minds about who to vote for.
Have an absentee ballot but don’t want to mail it? You can take it to your county auditor’s office and hand-deliver it.
Want to track your own ballot? Once you have made your request you can go to sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus and enter your information to check on it!
Iowa is experienced with absentee voting – Iowans should be confident every vote will be counted.
Keep in mind that election night results are not official until a canvass is conducted the week after the election.
Some things to remember:
Read and follow the instructions!
Sign the outer affidavit envelope. Failure to do so will cause the ballot to be rejected.
Place the absentee ballot in the included secrecy envelope before putting it in the outer envelope and mailing it to your auditor.
If you make a mistake on your absentee ballot – contact your county auditor! Iowa law has procedures for “spoiling” mailed absentee ballots and obtaining a replacement.
Who’s on the ballot, anyway?
On the front of Iowans’ ballots will be races for: President and vice president; U.S. Senate; U.S. House; All 100 of Iowa’s state representatives and half of the 50 state senators; County offices like sheriff, county attorney, auditor, treasurer and recorder; Nonpartisan offices like hospital trustees and county agricultural extension council.
On the back of Iowans’ two-sided ballots will be four Iowa Supreme Court justices and a number of judges facing retention elections. Iowans also will vote on whether Iowa should hold a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the state’s constitution — a measure that is required by law to be placed on the ballot every decade.
Still have some questions or need some help! Feel free to contact us at sdinsdale@iowacan.org and we will answer your questions!
As always, thank you for your support and activism! –Sue