Statewide, Iowa — This being an odd-numbered year, the election this fall on election day will not feature the President, members of Congress, or state legislators. It will, however, feature both city and school candidates and issues. So it’s your chance to help with local government.
According to the Iowa Secretary of State, some cities have a primary system. And for those cities, the candidate filing period is underway from now until August 29th, with the primary election on October 8th.
Most cities in our area, however, are not on a primary system. For those cities, the candidate filing period opens this coming Monday, August 26th, and wraps up on September 19th. The general election is on Tuesday, November 5th. Elections of school board members, community college board members, city council members, mayors, and other questions may all be on your ballot.
This will be the first time that city and school candidates will be on the same ballot. School board of education elections used to be held in September, but a law passed in 2017 requires them to be held in November — on the same day as city elections. The new law will require election officials to prepare more types of ballots because school elections sometimes cover several cities, plus rural areas. Many polling locations will remain the same, but there will be some changes. The Secretary of State says you can check out where to vote by clicking here. If you have questions, you can contact your county auditor’s office. Find that contact information here. Find the County Auditor Directory, select your county, and click “go.”
Absentee ballots will be available by October 7th, and are due October 25th. They need to be requested on an official form. You can also vote in person at your auditor’s office, starting October 7th. Call them for more information.
