Election 2024: Early voting in Iowa now underway
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) - The polls are now open in Iowa. In-person early voting officially kicked off Wednesday morning. You can vote in-person at your county auditor’s office through November 4th.
Remember to bring a valid photo ID. If you’re not registered to vote, you can do that when you’re there too.
A sizeable crowd was lined up outside of the Polk County Auditor’s office before the polls open. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald says 400 voters came through in the first 2.5 hours, and they’re expecting 2,000 to cast their ballot by day’s end.
That’s 500 more than they usually get on the first day.
One of those voters is Darit Brown from Des Moines.
”We’ve got three kids and we didn’t know if we would have time on election day to organize it and so I got the reminder email that early voting was open and figured I’ve got time right now, let’s go,” he said.
They could’ve waited for three more weeks, but voters we spoke with wanted to cast their ballot now.
Dick Stoffer from West Des Moines said, “Well, I’m a poll worker, so I need to vote early.”
Nick Vendetti and his Wife Leona usually vote on election day but, “Well, I’ll be away on a trip. I won’t be here for election day.”
Patrick Bannon from Clive enjoys the convenience. “Just makes it easier and being retired, I had the day off so here I am,” he said.
Incumbent Republican 3rd District Congressman Zach Nunn was among those first in line to cast his ballot. “We’re voting early today because I think it’s important to show that we have a not only faith in our election system here in Iowa, which is one of the best in the country, but we also never know what’s going to happen on election day itself,” he said.
Democratic candidates also formed a group to vote early together. Nunn’s Democratic challenger, Lanon Baccam, joined them. He says he actually prefers the excitement of voting on election day but he wanted to be here to support early voting efforts.
“The number of people who are requesting absentee ballots is higher than it was last cycle. We know that there’s a lot of people showing up here in Iowa today and across multiple counties,” Baccam said.
Monday is also the first day absentee ballots can be mailed out. If you haven’t requested one yet, you have until October 21st to do so.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate recommends sending absentee ballots back as soon as you can in case there are delays with the Post Office. They have to be received by your county auditor by 8:00 p.m. on election day, which is November 5th.
Deadlines to remember:
- Wednesday, Oct. 16: First day absentee ballots may be mailed; first day of in-person absentee voting
- Monday, Oct. 21: Deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed, 5:00 p.m. in person, 11:59 p.m. online
- Monday, Nov. 4: Last day to vote early at the county auditor’s office
- Tuesday, Nov. 5: General Election Day, polls are open from 7am to 8pm
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
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