Choice 1

I PLAN TO VOTE EARLY, IN PERSON

VOTE EARLY AT YOUR COUNTY AUDITOR’S OFFICE

Starts October 19 and ends Nov. 7th – the day before the election.

Location:

Location is at the County Administration Building.  To find your county Auditor, and the address of the county building, select your county on this list:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html

Hours:

October 19th through November 7th:
Monday through Friday
During regular office hours for your Auditor’s office. (such as 8am – 5pm, or 8am – 4:30pm, etc.)

Plus one weekend day, Saturday, November 5th
Voting will be offered for eight hours, usually 9am – 5pm, but each county Auditor’s office can set slightly different hours.

*The hours listed above are the mandatory minimum early voting hours for every county Auditor’s office in Iowa.  Some counties have added additional weekend hours and are offering a drive-through voting option at a location near the Auditor’s office.

VOTE EARLY AT A SATELLITE LOCATION

 These days, voters must petition to have a satellite voting location, and any individual county may or may not have satellite voting locations available for this election.  A spot check revealed satellite locations in larger counties, but not in smaller ones.  Check your county Auditor’s office for times and locations of satellite voting sites.  All early voting starts on October 19th for the November 8th, 2022 election, and ends on November 7th.

Choice 2

VOTE BY REQUESTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT THROUGH THE MAIL

DEADLINES FOR MAKING A REQUEST FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BY MAIL

You must request an absentee ballot for every election. 
The form is available here https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/absenteeballotapp.pdf 
Copies of this form can be requested from your county Auditor’s office.  Call them or stop by if you don’t have a printer and need help getting a form. 
How to find your county Auditor’s office: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html

There is a new rule that you have to “show your ID” on the absentee ballot request form.
You need to write down your Iowa driver’s license number or the number from your non-operators ID.  If you don’t have one of those, you need to provide the four digit Voter PIN located on your Iowa Voter ID Card.  If you don’t have an Iowa ID, or your PIN, contact your county Auditor’s office.  The Auditor’s office can ask you some questions to establish your identity and provide you with your PIN.  Note that if you vote early at the Auditor’s office, or vote in person on election day, a broader range of documents are allowed for establishing your ID. 
To find your county Auditor’s office, select your county here:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html

Deadline for Requesting the Absentee Ballot
For the November 8th election, the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is October 24th, 5pm.  Ballots will be mailed out starting October 19th for those people who have submitted their absentee ballot request forms.  After that date, ballots are mailed as absentee ballot requests are received from voters.  Note that since the time window is so short many voters are better off voting early in person.  If that is not an option for whatever reason, just submit the absentee ballot request form as soon as possible.

Absentee ballot request forms can be hand delivered to the Auditor’s office, but may not be put in the ballot drop box.  Bring it to the desk at the county Auditor’s office (usually in the county Administration building).

If you need another person to take your absentee ballot request form to the Auditor’s office, that person should turn in the request within 72 hours, or before the deadline of October 24th, 5pm, whichever is sooner.  Note that dropping off a voted ballot is a very different thing, and restrictive rules apply.  See below.

HOW TO TRACK YOUR REQUEST AND YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT

It’s a very good idea to keep track of whether your absentee ballot request was received, and to find out when your ballot was mailed.  When you return your ballot, you can also check at this site to see if the ballot was received. https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus/absentee/search

RETURNING YOUR BALLOT

Return it by mail no later than October 26
You can mail your ballot, but that is not recommended any later than October 26th, due to possible slowness with the mail.  The postage is prepaid.

Return it yourself in person -deadline 8pm November 8th
It is safest to drop off your ballot at the ballot drop-box which is located near your county Auditor’s office, or bring the ballot into the lobby of the Auditor’s office and hand it in at the desk. All ballots must be returned by 8pm on election day, November 8th, or they can’t be counted.  Note that this is a new restriction on voting – even if postmarked prior to the election, if it has not physically arrived by 8pm on election day it can’t be counted.

What to do if you need help returning your ballot

The rules on this have become very restrictive.  Your options are:

• Ask a relative to return your ballot
• Ask a member of your household to return your ballot
• If you are in residential nursing care or assisted living, you can ask a caregiver or another person to return your ballot.  Your county Auditor’s office may bring a bi-partisan team to your facility to help people vote, so look for that opportunity.  
• If none of the above applies, and you are blind or disabled, you can ask another person to return your ballot, but they have to have your written permission, leave a receipt with you, and approach the Auditor’s office in person and swear an oath.  Follow the instructions that came with your ballot.  One person may only return two ballots in this manner.

Choice 3

VOTE IN PERSON ON ELECTION DAY

DATE AND TIME:
Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 / 7am – 8pm

Hours are 7am-8pm ***Note the earlier close!  Your employer is obligated to allow up to two hours time off with no cut in pay for you to get to your polling place to vote.

WHERE TO VOTE:

You must vote at the polling place that is located in the precinct where you live.  Some precinct boundaries and polling places have changed.   On election day, November 8th, early voting at the Auditor’s office will be closed.

Here is a way to find out which precinct you live in, and where your polling place is. https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/pollingplace/search.aspx

WHAT ARE THE VALID FORMS OF ID TO SHOW ON ELECTION DAY?:

A valid ID is required to vote in person. Check out the list of Iowa ID requirements for voting below.

• • Iowa Driver’s License
  • Iowa Non-Operator ID
  • Voter Identification Card (with PIN number and signature line)
  • U.S. Military ID or Veteran ID
  • U.S. Passport
  • Tribal ID Card/Document

Note that if you don’t have an Iowa driver’s license or ID, you can ask your county Auditor’s office for a voter identification card that has a PIN and a signature line.  They are allowed to issue you a voter identification card through the mail.  Only bother with this option if you don’t have an Iowa driver’s license or non operator ID.  This option is available until the pre-registration deadline closes, through October 24th.  If that deadline has passed, talk to the Auditor’s office about finding a valid form of ID.  Find your county Auditor’s office here:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html

If your ID does not show your current address, (and you do not have a pre-registration on file with your correct current address), you will be asked for proof of where you live.  The proof must have your name, your address, and be valid within 45 days.  The proof can be in electronic form, such as a cell phone bill on your phone.  The following are valid forms of proof of address.

• • Residential lease
  • Utility bill, including a cell phone bill
  • Bank statement
  • Paycheck
  • Government check
  • Other government document
  • Property tax statement

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

I AM A FORMER FELON AND PLAN TO VOTE – WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

Most former felons have had their voting rights restored in Iowa.  You have to have completed your sentence and parole.  This page has information on registering and voting.  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/restorerights.html

One practical suggestion is to bring a registered voter with you when registering to vote.  Iowa uses an electronic database to determine who has had their voting rights restored, and like any automated system it can make mistakes.  Moral support is important here.

MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS

Federal law provides for different rules for military and certain categories of overseas voters.  Such voters can make an absentee ballot request by email, and even receive their ballot by email, but most people still have to print and physically mail their overseas ballots back to their county Auditor’s office. Only people in the military or in places the State Department classifies as “Imminent Danger Areas” can return  a ballot by email. There is assistance and information available at this website:  https://www.fvap.gov/info/about-absentee-voting

Ballots mailed from overseas or from military bases must be postmarked by the day before the election (November 7th), and can arrive up until noon, the Monday after the election.  Here’s the catch – be sure that your ballot gets a postmark with a date on it.  In some cases you can ask that the envelope be “hand canceled,” to prove when the envelope was mailed.

I AM DISABLED AND/OR NEED ASSISTANCE VOTING – WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS FOR VOTING

 Your options include the following – this might not be a complete list:

• • Use the early voting option run by the Auditor’s office.  People there can assist you.  Bring the phone number of your county Auditor’s office (or call ahead) and ask to have a bi-partisan team come out to your car and help you vote.  Review the information on what identification to bring.  To find your county Auditor’s office, search here:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html
  • If you are in a care center or assisted living, call your county Auditor’s office about what help might be available applying for and voting an absentee ballot. 
  • Vote absentee from home, but observe the cautions above concerning how tight the timelines are, and get your request for an absentee ballot in early.  The deadline to apply for a ballot is October 24th.
  • Drive up to the curb nearest your polling place on election day.  Look for posted instructions on how to request that a bi-partisan team come out and help you vote.  If you don’t see any instructions, call your county Auditor’s office, which will ask a team to come out to your car. 
  • If you are at any polling place, there should be a touch screen system available as an alternative for marking your ballot.  It prints out a ballot that is put in the ballot box with the other ballots.  You may also request that someone help you mark your ballot.  If you ask the poll workers to help you, they will have a bi-partisan team help you mark your ballot.

Does it seem as if voting has gotten harder?

See the next section on learning what Iowa legislative districts you are in.  Vote for Democrats in Iowa House and Iowa Senate races – Democrats have consistently voted against legislation that makes voting harder, and with intentionally confusing rules.  Republicans have been united in supporting these bad laws.