Early voting in the Nov. 5 general election starts on Wednesday. County auditors’ offices will begin mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters and opening their doors for early in-person voting. Early in-person voting will run through Monday, Nov. 4, the day before Election Day, and all absentee ballots must be received in the auditor’s office by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, when the polls close.
Voters wanting to request an absentee ballot by mail must submit a written request form to their auditor’s office by next Monday, Oct. 21. That’s also the final chance to register to vote before Election Day. Same-day registration will be available at all polling places on Election Day.
To register to vote, one of the following forms of ID is necessary.
• Iowa Voter Identification Card
• Iowa Driver’s License
• Iowa Non-Operator ID
• U.S. Military ID or Veteran ID
• U.S. Passport
• Tribal ID Card/Document
If you have moved since the last time you voted, and your ID does not have your current address, you will need to provide proof of your current residence. According to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, the following forms of proof of residence are acceptable.
• Residential lease
• Utility bill, including a cell phone bill
• Bank statement
• Paycheck
• Government check
• Other government document
• Property tax statement
Since 2017, Iowans have been required to produce ID in order to exercise their right to vote. Any of the forms of ID listed above are considered acceptable.
Early voting in Johnson County
Both early in-person early voting at the auditor’s office in the Johnson County Administration Building in Iowa City (913 S Dubuque St) and drive-thru voting at the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building’s parking ramp (855 S Dubuque St) are available. Hours for voting at the office and the parking ramp are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, from Wednesday, Oct. 16 through Monday, Nov. 4. Both will also be open an extra two hours, until 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28 through Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The sites will also be open on the two weekends before Election Day. Early voters will be able to cast a ballot from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 27. On Saturday, Nov. 2, the hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 3, the hours revert to noon to 5 p.m.
In addition to those sites, there will also be seven satellite locations for early voting. Three are in Iowa City, three are in Coralville and one is in North Liberty.
Iowa City
• Hubbard Commons at the Iowa Memorial Union (125 N Madison St) — Monday, Oct. 21 through Wednesday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Fountain Lobby at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (200 Hawkins Dr) —Monday, Oct. 21 through Wednesday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Iowa City Public Library (123 S Linn St)
Saturday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 27, noon-5 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 28 through Wednesday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Coralville
• Coralville Public Library (1401 5th St)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 20, noon-4 p.m.• Iowa Health Care – Iowa River Landing Clinic (920 E 2nd Ave) — Thursday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Iowa Health Care – Health Care Support Services Building (3281 Ridgeway Dr) — Friday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
North Liberty
• North Liberty Community Library (520 W Cherry St) — Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Early voting in Linn County
Voters may cast their ballots in the Linn County Auditor’s Office in the Jean Oxley Public Service Center in Cedar Rapids (935 2nd St SW). Hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but Monday, Oct. 21 and Monday, Nov. 4, the officer will be open for an additional 30 minutes, meaning voters have until 5 p.m. to cast an early ballot on those days.
“Curbside voting is available to those who have disabilities or health concerns which prevent them from entering the building,” according to the auditor’s office. “Please bring a cell phone and park in the marked space across from the building entrance.”
Linn County will also have 10 satellite voting locations, eight in Cedar Rapids, as well as one in Marion and one in Mount Vernon.
Cedar Rapids
• Lindale Mall (4444 1st Ave NE)
Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., from Oct. 16 through Nov. 2
Sundays, Oct. 20 through Nov. 3, noon-5 p.m.• Kirkwood College Rec Center (6301 Kirkwood Blvd SW) — Thursday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Cedar Rapids Public Library (450 5th Ave SE)
Saturday, Oct 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 20, 1:30-4:30 pm• St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (4700 Johnson Ave NW) — Tuesday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Coe College (1220 1st Ave NE) — Thursday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• The Motion Center in The Manor building at the Meth-Wick Community (1224 13th St NW) — Friday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Ladd Library (3750 Williams Blvd SW)
Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 27, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.• Hoover Elementary School (4141 Johnson Ave NW) — Friday, Nov. 1, 4:15-10:15 p.m.
Marion
• Marion Public Library (1101 6th Ave) — Monday, Oct. 28, 1-7 p.m.
Mount Vernon
• The SAW Center at Cornell College (835 1st St W) — Wednesday, Oct. 30, noon-6 p.m.
This will be the first presidential election since Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a 2021 bill imposing new restrictions on voting. That bill, SF 413, moved through the Iowa House and Senate with unusual speed. The 37-page bill received final approval just eight days after it was first introduced. Only Republicans voted in favor of SF 413, while all the Democrats in both chambers opposed it.
The changes to election law in SF 413 included a prohibition on county auditors sending an absentee ballot request form to any voter unless the voter requests one using the written form created by the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. It also cut 50 days off the time period during which a voter can request an absentee ballot, reducing it from 120 days to 70 days. The opportunity to vote early was also cut, going from 29 days to 20 days, making Iowa’s early voting period one of the shortest in the country.
