Early, in-person voting at county auditors’ offices starts this Wednesday and county auditors will also start mailing absentee ballots to voters who requested the mail-in option. Winnebago County Auditor Karla Weiss is the president of the Iowa State Association of County Auditors. She says people need to make sure to sign the outside of their absentee ballots.
Absentee ballots must be county auditors’ offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Candidates, their campaigns and the two major political parties are amping up their get-out-the-vote efforts. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart says there is a coordinated effort among the Democratic campaigns for governor, U-S Senate and U-S House that emphasizes direct, in-person contact with voters.
Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann says Republican U-S Senate Joni Ernst, who is not seeking re-election, has made a significant donation from her campaign funds to support early voting efforts.
Democrats had long held an edge in early voting in Iowa, but about 10-thousand more Republicans than Democrats cast absentee ballots in 2024.
