Governor proclaims Tuesday voter registration day

DES MOINES - It's voter registration day, which means it's as good a day as any to register for those who haven't voted in a while or to update voter registration if there's been a move, name change, or party affiliation change.

Gov. Terry Branstad proclaimed Tuesday Iowa voter registration day to highlight the importance of registering for the upcoming Nov. 6 general election.

The Iowa Secretary of State has forms on his website and a program that allows voters to type in their name and zip code to see if they are registered and listed as an active voter.

Iowa is one of eight states to offer election day registration but voters must have proper identification including a picture ID and proof of address to register at the polls.

Early voting in Iowa begins on Thursday. Thousands of Iowans have registered to vote and many will become the first in the nation to cast ballots in the Nov. 6 general election.

In 2008, more than 30 percent of all votes in Iowa were cast before Election Day.

This year's ballot includes candidates for president, as well as competitive congressional races in Iowa's four districts that were redrawn by the Legislature based upon population data from the 2010 Census. Stagnant population growth caused Iowa to lose a congressional seat – causing U.S. Reps. Tom Latham, R-Clive, and Leonard Boswell, D-Des Moines, to be thrown together in the newly drawn 3

^rd

congressional district encompassing the southwestern quadrant of Iowa.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Tuesday released a new Benenson Strategy Group poll that shows Boswell and Latham tied with both earning 45 percent of the survey respondents.