At home and your auditor's office
ABSENTEE VOTING INFORMATION
Absentee Ballot Request Form (fillable) http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/absenteeballotapp.pdf
Absentee Ballot Request Form with Receipt http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/absenteeballotapprec.pdf
Completed absentee ballot requests forms should be returned to the county auditor in the county where the voter is registered.
In the state of Iowa, registered voters may request an absentee ballot for three reasons (listed below). However, the law does not require the voter to state the reason on the request form. Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot at any election:
-- When, during the time the polls are open on Election Day, the voter expects to be absent from the precinct in which he/she is a registered voter.
-- When, through illness or physical disability, the voter expects to be prevented from going to the polls and voting on Election Day.
-- When the voter expects to be unable to go to the polls and vote on Election Day.
Absentee ballots may be sent to voters through the U.S. Postal Service. Voters may also vote by absentee ballot in person at the county auditor's office or at satellite absentee voting locations. Request forms for absentee ballots may be obtained online or mailed upon request from the Secretary of State's office.
Completed requests for mailed ballots should be returned to the county auditor in the county where the voter is registered by 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election.
Ballots are mailed to voters no later than 40 days before Primary and General elections. For other elections, ballots are mailed to voters as soon as they are ready. Voters may vote by absentee ballot in person beginning 40 days before Primary and General elections.
Note: The state of Iowa does not require absentee ballot requests to be witnessed or notarized.
If you would like a hard copy of any of the absentee ballot request forms, please call the Secretary of State’s Office at 515-281-0145 or 1-888-SOS-VOTE (1-888-767-8683).
VOTING ABSENTEE BY MAIL
Iowans Living in the United States
Completed absentee ballot request forms should be mailed to the county auditor in the county where the voter is registered to vote. In lieu of the official form, absentee ballot requests must be on paper no smaller than 3x5 inches and include the following information:
-- The name of the voter,
-- The voter's address,
-- The address to which the ballot should be sent (if different from the voter's address),
-- The voter's date of birth,
-- The date and/or name of the election for which the voter is requesting a ballot, and
-- The voter's signature.
The voter's party affiliation (primary elections only)
No one can request a ballot for another person. Proxy request forms are available for use by certain family members to request absentee ballots for relatives who qualify for armed forces and overseas ballots. Proxy requests can be used in the General Election ONLY. For more information about proxy requests, contact your county auditor or see more information for Military & Overseas Voters.
Someone who will be 18 years old by the date of an upcoming election may request an absentee ballot if he or she is pre-registered to vote.
Voters requesting absentee ballots by mail may submit a request at anytime before an election but must do so by 5 p.m. the Friday before the election. Requests arriving by mail after 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election cannot be honored.
If the application is received so late it that is unlikely the absentee ballot can be returned by mail in time to be considered for counting on Election Day, the county auditor will enclose a statement to that effect with the absentee ballot.
Absentee ballots CANNOT be delivered to polling places on Election Day. On Election Day, voters who have been issued an absentee ballot but have not yet returned their absentee ballot to their county auditor have the following options:
The voter may deliver the ballot to the county auditor's office before the polls close on Election Day.
The voter can "surrender" the absentee ballot at the polling place for the precinct in which the voter is registered to vote. The voter will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot at the polling place.
If a voter cannot "surrender" the absentee ballot at the polling place, the voter will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot at the polling place for the precinct in which the voter's registered to vote.
If returned by mail, the ballot must be clearly postmarked by the day before the election by an officially authorized postal service and received by the county auditor's office no later than noon on the Monday following the election. For school elections and some city and special elections there may be an earlier deadline. Read the instructions sent with the ballot.
VOTING ABSENTEE IN PERSON
Voters may cast absentee ballots at county auditors' offices during regular business hours prior to any election. For General elections, county auditors' offices are also open on the two Saturdays before election day for in-person absentee voting. Voters cannot take the ballot home.
On Election Day, voters may not vote by absentee ballot at their county auditor's office unless the polls do not open until noon for that election. In that case, voters may cast absentee ballots at their auditor's office from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Election Day.
For voters who need assistance in marking their ballots, an AutoMARK ballot marking device is available at the county auditor's office for in-person absentee voting.
