Early voting in the Nov. 4 city and school election started on Wednesday morning, with in-person early voting locations opening and county auditor’s offices mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters. Voters who still want a mail-in ballot have until 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20 to submit a complete ballot request form to their auditor’s office. Those absentee ballots must be received in the auditor’s office of the county in which the voter lives by the time polls close on Election Day to be considered valid.
In addition to early in-person voting at the auditor’s office, Black Hawk, Dubuque and Scott Counties will also have satellite early voting locations where eligible voters can cast a ballot. All Black Hawk County voters will be able to vote at the satellite location.
Early voting in Black Hawk County
The Elections Office in Black Hawk County will be open for early in-person voting through Monday, Nov. 3, during normal business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. On Monday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 31, the office will stay open an extra 30 minutes to accommodate voters.
There will be one satellite location in Black Hawk County for early voting in this election at Impact Church of Hope in Waterloo (710 Broadway St) on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Early voting in Dubuque County
All Dubuque County voters will be able to vote early at the county auditor’s Elections Office, which is now located at 880 Central Ave in Dubuque, during normal business hours through Monday, Nov. 3. Open hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Elections Office will stay open an extra 30 minutes on Friday, Oct. 31, closing at 5 p.m. It will also be open for early voting on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The county will also have three satellite locations available. “To vote early at one of the school locations in the City of Dubuque, the registered voter must live within the Dubuque Community School District,” according to the auditor’s office.
•Dyersville: Dyersville Social Center (625 3rd Ave SE) – Saturday, Oct. 25, 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Dubuque: George Washington Middle School (51 N Grandview Ave) – Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2:45-8:45 p.m.
• Dubuque: Carver Elementary School (2007 Radford Rd) – Wednesday, Oct. 29, 3:30-9:30 p.m.
Early voting in Scott County
The Elections Office in Scott County will be open for early voting, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will also be open on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon, to accommodate early voters. The office is located on the fifth floor of Scott County Administration Building in Davenport (600 W Fourth St).
Scott County voters will have three opportunities to vote at satellite locations in Bettendorf in this election.
• Bettendorf Public Library (2950 Learning Campus Dr) – Tuesday, Oct. 21, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., and Wednesday, Oct. 22, noon-6 p.m.
• The Summit (4699 53rd Ave) – Wednesday, Oct. 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Voter ID, registering to vote
Since 2017, it has been necessary to produce a state-approved form of ID to exercise your right to vote in Iowa. The following forms of ID are considered acceptable for both voting and registering to vote.
• 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
Anyone who needs to register to vote to cast an early ballot must do so before 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20. After that, they will need to wait until Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 4 — when same-day registration will be available.
