DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate reminds Iowans to be ‘Voter Ready’ as the absentee voting period begins this Monday, October 8, for the 2018 general election. Iowans wishing to vote early can download an absentee ballot request form and mail it to their county auditor’s office or vote in-person at the auditor’s office. Pate says he hopes “Every eligible Iowan makes their voice heard by participating in this election. Iowa has no-excuse absentee voting, which means every eligible Iowan can vote by mail, in-person at your county auditor’s office, at a satellite voting location, or at the polls on Election Day. Part of being voter ready means having a plan on how and when you’re going to cast your ballot. I generally think it’s a good idea to vote early.”

Requests for absentee ballots by mail must be received in your county auditor’s office by 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. To download an absentee ballot request form, and for a variety of election-related information, visit VoterReadyIowa.org.

(Groups and organizations hoping to assist their members with voting can download customizable materials from Secretary Pate’s Voter Ready Toolkit at this link.)