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On Wednesday, in-person early voting begins in Iowa. We urge voters to plan for casting their ballots. Here is some information they need to know.
Voting locations, days and hours can be found on your county elections website. All Election Day polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Voters mailing an absentee ballot request should act quickly -- signed requests are due back to your county auditor's office no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21. No absentee ballots can be mailed to voters whose requests are received after that -- they can either vote at an early voting location or at their assigned polling place on Election Day.
Counties cannot put absentee ballots in the mail until the first day of early voting, which Oct. 16, so voters will receive their mailed absentee ballots on Oct. 17 at the earliest.
Ballots received in the mail may be returned in person, but only at the auditor's office, and only by a voter or a designee who is an immediate family member, a member of your household and, for disabled voters, someone designated to return your ballot. Instructions on how to pick a designee comes with a mailed ballot.
If you have yet to register to vote or update your registration and want your name to be found in your polling location's voter list on Election Day, completed voter registration forms must be received by your auditor's office no later than the same 5 p.m. Monday Oct. 21 deadline.
After that deadline, you can still register or update your registration when voting in person using an approved from of ID -- a driver's license or non-operator's ID; a passport, military ID, veteran's ID or tribal ID; or an Iowa Voter ID card that you've signed before going to vote. Iowa DOT-issued IDs can be accepted if expired by no more than 60 days. Every other form must not be expired.
If your ID does not contain your current address, registrants can prove residency with a document such as a residential lease, utility bill (including a cellphone bill,) bank statement, pay stub, government check or other government document such as a vehicle registration. All residency documents must contain the voter's name, current address and be current within 45 days.
If you don't have any of the approved forms to prove identity and/or residency, you can use an attester: a preregistered voter in your precinct who is willing to show ID and attest for your identity and residency.
All approved forms of ID will be accepted, but an Iowa Driver's License or Non-Operator's ID is usually the most efficient, as counties that use bar code scanners can scan the back of your Iowa DOT-issued ID to look you up in their system.
We urge voters to use the least complicated route possible, such as voting early in-person, dropping off your absentee ballot at the auditor's office or voting on Election Day. That way, voters are not at the mercy of mail delivery, which could delay mail-in ballots.
Whether mailed or voted in person, all absentee ballots must be received in the auditor's office by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
(319) 398-8262; [email protected]
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