College Voter Information

• Registering to Vote
• Election Day Registration
• Ways to Vote in Iowa
• Voting 101: Voting as a College Student in Iowa brochure
  

Registering before Election Day is the best way to ensure that you will have a quick and hassle-free experience voting at the polls on Election Day. To pre-register, download and print a voter registration form. Mail or drop-off your completed registration form at your county auditor's office 10 days before general and primary elections and 11 days before all other elections you want to vote in. Within 2 weeks, you should receive a voter registration card that will tell you where you need to go vote on Election Day. If you haven't received your voter registration card within 2 weeks of submitting your registration form, contact your county auditor to confirm they received your registration form.

As a college student, you have the option of registering to vote in your hometown or in your college town. Your decision of where to register will determine which candidates and what issues will appear on your ballot. You can only register in one location. You CANNOT register to vote in both your hometown and in your college town.

If you are an Iowa resident attending a college in Iowa that is in a different county than your hometown, you may register to vote in either:

• your hometown OR
• your college town.

If you are an Iowa resident attending a college outside of Iowa, you may register to vote in either:

• your hometown OR
• your college town (subject to the laws of the state where you are attending college).

If you are a resident of another state and are attending college in Iowa, you may register to vote in either:

• your college town OR
• your hometown and vote by absentee ballot (subject to the laws of your home state).

Don't forget to complete a new voter registration form every time you move, change your name, switch party affiliations, or change any other information.

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If you were not able to pre-register to vote, you can register and vote on Election Day. To do so, you must go to the correct polling place for your current address on Election Day. To find the polling place for your current address, click here: Find Your Precinct/Polling Place. You will need to show proper identification.

To register on Election Day, you must prove both:

1.   Who you are




2.   Where you live

The best form of ID is a valid Iowa driver’s license with your current address printed on it. If your Iowa driver’s license does not list your current address, you must use one of the items under proof of residence to prove where you live. Do NOT register at the old address listed on your ID.

All forms of photo ID must be current, valid, and contain an expiration date.

Proof of Identity

If you do not have an Iowa’s driver license, you can provide one of the following to prove who you are:

• Iowa non-driver identification card
• Out-of-state driver's license or non-driver identification card
• U.S. passport
• U.S. military ID
• ID card issued by your employer
• Student ID issued by Iowa high school or college

Proof of identity must contain your photo and an expiration date.

If the photo ID presented does not show your current address, you may still use it to prove who you are but you must use something else to prove where you live. You may use one of the documents listed below as proof of where you live.

Proof of Residence

You can use one of the following to prove where you live:

• Residential lease
• Utility bill
• Bank statement
• Paycheck
• Government check
• Cell phone bill
• Other government document

Proof of residence must contain your name and current address.

Attester

If you cannot prove who you are and where you live with the documents listed above, a registered voter from your precinct may attest for you. Both you and the attester will be required to sign an oath swearing the statements being made are true.

Iowa law allows a registered voter to attest for ONE person per election. Voters who registered to vote on Election Day can attest for someone else as long as the voters were not attested for themselves.

Falsely attesting or being attested for is registration fraud. It is a class “D” felony and is punishable by a fine of up to $7,500 and up to 5 years in prison. Registration fraud also includes:

• Registering/being registered to vote at an address where you do not live
• Registering to vote when you are not eligible to do so
• Registering to vote at more than one address

If you do not have proper identification and do not have anyone who can attest for you, you will still be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. You can take your proof of who you are and where you live to your county auditor’s office after Election Day.

After the election, all voters who register to vote on Election Day will be sent a notice by mail. The first notice will not be forwarded to another address. If this notice is returned as undeliverable, a second notice that is forwardable will be mailed to the voter. The voter must return the notice to the county auditor within 14 days. If the notice is not returned, the county attorney and Secretary of State’s Office will be given the voter’s information for investigation and prosecution.

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Vote at Your Polling Place

On Election Day, vote at the polling place for your precinct. For primary and general elections, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you are unsure of your polling place, contact your county auditor or click here: Find Your Precinct/Polling Place.

Vote by Absentee Ballot

If you are registered to vote in Iowa, there are three ways that you can vote by absentee ballot before Election Day.

• Absentee ballot by mail




Complete an absentee ballot request form and mail it to your county auditor. The county auditor will mail the ballot to you as soon as it is ready. Your request for an absentee ballot must be received by 5 p.m. the Friday before the election.




• Absentee ballot at your county auditor's office




Beginning 40 days before an election, you may vote in person by absentee ballot at your county auditor's office during regular business hours. You may not vote by absentee ballot at your county auditor's office on Election Day.




• Absentee ballot at a satellite voting location




Prior to Election Day, some counties use satellite voting locations for voting in person by absentee ballot at places away from the county auditor's office. Contact your county auditor to find out if a satellite voting location will available in your area.

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