It’s Election Day: How, when and where to vote in Iowa

It’s Election Day, and voters across Iowa are headed to the polls.

This year’s ballot include a mix of city and school elections, alongside several ballot initiatives in certain areas. School board candidates successfully elected today will start their terms this fall, and city candidates will begin in early 2026.

Learn more about your ballot — and how to cast it — below.

How to vote

Polls are open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling location using the Iowa Secretary of State website, sos.iowa.gov, underneath the “elections” tab.

No weather disruptions are expected today with the National Weather Service forecasting gradually clearing skies throughout the day with highs in the mid-60s for both Linn and Johnson counties.

Registered voters will need to bring a current, valid ID with them to vote on Election Day. Valid forms of ID include:

If you have not done so already, voters may also register to vote on Election Day at the polls. Doing so requires proof of identity and residence. Valid IDs must be physically present, although proof of residency — such as a property tax statement or recent utility bill — can be presented digitally.

All mail-in, absentee ballots must be received by your county auditor’s office by 8 p.m. today to be counted. You can track the status of your absentee ballot using the Secretary of State’s website.

For more information on how to vote and/or what documents to bring along, visit voterready.iowa.gov.

What’s on the ballot?

This year’s election will choose local government representatives on city councils and school boards. It also includes local ballot issues, including school bonds and municipal referendums.

View the sample ballots based on your precinct for the Nov. 4 city and school elections through the links below:

You can also learn about select candidates and issues through The Gazette’s Voter Guide, which includes articles and candidate surveys on a variety of local races and ballot issues across the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor.

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Who already voted?

Thousands of voters in east-central Iowa have already cast their votes, either via mail-in ballots or through absentee, in-person voting. Figures below were the most recently available as of Monday afternoon.

As of Sunday evening, 3,867 Johnson County voters had cast ballots either by mail or absentee in person. Of those, 2,869 were Democrats; 433 were Republican; and 565 were either third-party or no-party voters.

By noon Monday, 3,862 Linn County residents had voted absentee in-person either at the Linn County Auditor’s Office or at one of its satellite voting locations. A party-level breakdown for those votes was not provided by the auditor’s office.

Another 4,220 mail-in ballots were issued to requesting Linn County voters last month, although the number of returned ballots was not publicly available as of Monday afternoon.

Statewide, the Secretary of State’s Office said 66,852 Iowans had voted early as of 9 a.m. Monday. That is a combination of mail-in and absentee in-person ballots.

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Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com