Things You Need to Know: Early/Absentee Voting in Iowa

Thanks to the Republican-controlled state government in Iowa, a couple important things have changed if you choose to vote early. :

• While you do not have to show an ID to vote, you do need to include your driver's license or other approved ID on your absentee/early voting request to receive an absentee ballot or to register to vote.

• According to the Johnson County Auditor's Office: "Under the new Voter ID law, early voters do not have to show their ID, but are required to write their Iowa driver’s license or non-driver ID number on their request form. Voters who do not have an Iowa license or non-driver ID will need to write down the PIN number from their voter card instead. Contact our office with any questions."

• According to the Iowa Secretary of State office: "The request form must be received in the county auditor's office by 5 p.m. on the Friday, eleven days before the election. If the request is for the general election, the deadline to request a ballot by mail is the Saturday, ten days before the election." In this case, it is by this Friday, 5/25/18.

Also, if you do not have a party affiliation, you will need to declare one to vote in the primary. This can be done on-site or made by completing an absentee ballot request which must be mailed to your county auditor's office.

If all else fails, you can vote in person on June 5th. If you are not registered to vote, go here. If you are, but don't know where to vote, go here to find your precinct/polling place.

The important thing: inform yourself about the issues you care about, think about who is likely to do the things you believe are right and, please, Go Vote!