DES MOINES – Pursuant to Iowa Code 47.1 (1), the Iowa Secretary of State’s office has issued a Directive to Iowa’s County Auditors to ensure consistent and uniform statewide enforcement of Iowa’s residency requirements for voter registration.

Some voter registration records were identified that appear to list post offices or other commercial mailing facilities as a voter’s residential address. The Iowa Secretary of State’s Directive clarifies the statutory requirement that voter registrations must reflect residential addresses, not mailing addresses.

County Auditors are instructed to review their voter registration lists, send a notification letter to voters whose records include a residential address at a known post office or mailing location, and instruct the voters to complete a new voter registration form with the correct residential address.

“Voter participation and election integrity are not mutually exclusive – they support and fuel each other,” said Secretary Pate. “We are proud to work with partners at the state, federal, and local levels to ensure consistent procedures across all 99 counties support both election integrity and voter participation.”

Nothing in the directive prohibits voters without a traditional dwelling from registering under Iowa Code 48A.5, which allows a voter to designate a location where the voter regularly sleeps as a residential address. A commercial mailing location may not be used as a substitute for a residential address.

This Directive reinforces existing statutory obligations, and is effective immediately