Voter Registration Form

Find Your Polling Place

Voter Guide

Upcoming Elections

Elected Officials

Election Returns and History

Registration Statistics

Services & Products

Links

The Voting Process

Upcoming Elections

The next scheduled election is the June 5, 2012 primary election. All voters may participate, but affiliation with one of the two major parties (Democratic or Republican) is required. More on parties and primary elections

Additional elections may be scheduled.

The January 3, 2012 caucuses are a party meeting, not an election. They are conducted by the political parties, not by our office.

Types of Elections

The rules and details of elections vary with the type of election.  The major types of elections are:

• General Elections

• Primary Elections

• City Elections

• City Primary

• School Elections

• Special Elections

• The Iowa presidential caucuses are conducted by the political parties and not by our office.

Where to Vote on Election Day

Eligible voters may vote on Election Day at their assigned polling place. Polling place hours vary depending on the type of election.  For partisan primary and general elections, held in even-numbered years, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. statewide.

For city and school elections, held in odd years, hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in most cities and districts. (Some small cities and districts have the option of opening at noon; this is decided each election and may vary.)

Your precinct and polling place are listed on your voter card.  You may also find your precinct and districts by entering your address on our precinct lookup page.  If you know your precinct, you may find your polling place for all general, primary, city and county elections by viewing the elections precincts list.  You may also call the Auditor's Office for any information you need.

Your caucus location may not be the same as your polling place.  Caucus sites are set by the parties and not by our office.

Why do I vote at a different place for school elections?

Since school districts pay for their own school elections, they have the option of opening fewer precincts to save costs. Also, some voters vote at a different polling place since school district boundaries do not always follow regular precinct lines.

You only go to your school precinct for school board elections (held in September of odd years) or for special elections related only to schools (including bond issues).

• List of school precincts
• Find your precinct

If you have any questions, please call our office at 356-6004.

Each precinct has at least three poll workers or "precinct election officials", who cannot all be members of the same party.  Poll workers are temporary employees of our office.  It is their job to be sure the voting proceeds smoothly and according to law.

There may also be poll watchers representing candidates, parties, or ballot issues.  They do not work for our office and they need to obey election laws.  No campaigning of any sort is permitted within 300 feet of the outside entrance to the polling place or a satellite voting station.  Usually, poll watchers simply keep track of who has voted.  Candidates may not be at a polling place unless they are voting.

You will be asked your name and address and, if your name appears in the poll book, you will sign an eligibility slip and then proceed to vote.

In very large elections such as general elections, there may be exit pollers from news organizations.  They must stay outside the polling place and can only interview people who have already voted.  You may choose whether or not to talk to exit pollers or other journalists.

Contact our office at 356-6004.  You may not have a close relative on the ballot.

More information on becoming a poll worker

Most Iowa voters do not need to show ID when they vote.  There are exceptions:

• If you are using the election day registration procedure.
• If you plan to register or change your address at the polls on election day.
• If you registered by mail and did not provide the correct identification number or documentation, your registration will be in "pending" status.  Once you have shown ID one time, the "pending" status is removed.
• If mail has been returned to our office indicating that you have moved outside the county, your registration will be in "inactive" status.  Once you have shown ID one time, the "inactive" status is removed.

Note: While some agencies may accept a voter card as a secondary proof of address, a voter card is not a form of identification.

If you are changing your address at the polls, the poll workers will look up your name on a computerized master list of all registered voters in the county.  Once your name is found you may re-register with your new address. If you are re-registering on Election Day, you will be asked for ID; if you are re-registering when voting early ID is not required.

If you are registering to vote in Johnson County for the first time on Election Day, or after the pre-registration deadline, you will need to use the Election Day registration procedure and provide the required identification and proof of address. Once you do this, you will be able to vote a regular ballot.

If your name is not on the master list and you believe that you are eligible to vote, you may vote a provisional ballot (formerly called a "special" or "challenged" ballot). You will be asked to fill out a registration form and explain in writing why you feel you should be eligible to vote in that precinct.  After the election, a review board will check the records and, before opening the ballot envelope, determine whether or not you are eligible to vote. Your vote will be counted if you are indeed eligible to vote.  If not, your ballot will not be opened and you will receive a notice that your vote was not counted.

No.  Any Johnson County voter may vote early at our office or at any satellite voting site up to and including the day before the election.  But on Election Day,  you can only vote at the precinct where you live.  Find your precinct

The Auditor's Office provides contact information for campaigns, candidates, and parties.  Before each election we post a list of candidates and ballot issues that includes addresses and (if available) phone numbers, e-mail addresses and web sites so that you may contact the campaigns yourself.

We do not mail voter guides, provide campaign literature, or answer specific questions such as how a candidate stands on a given issue.

Yes, you may be aided by nearly anyone you wish. (The only exceptions: you may not be assisted by your employer, an agent or representative of your employer, or an agent or representative of your labor union.)

If you need help and do not bring someone with you, you may be aided by two poll workers of different parties.

You may bring marked sample ballots or lists into the polls to help you remember how you want to vote. You may not leave them in the voting booths or show them to other voters in line.

You can request another ballot.  Do not attempt to erase any marks on your ballot.  Tell the poll worker in charge of ballots. You will be asked to seal your spoiled ballot in an envelope yourself, so that no one else has a chance to see it. Then you will be given a new ballot.

If you make a mistake on a mailed absentee ballot, return the ballot as you would if you had voted it and write "Spoiled, request new ballot" on the outside.  You will be mailed another ballot.  You may also bring the spoiled mailed ballot to our office and vote your new ballot in person.

There are write-in slots for each office on the ballot in every election (except yes or no questions).  In order for your write-in vote to count, you must complete the write-in line AND fill in the oval. Poll workers count the write-in votes by hand after the polls close.

Can I get a ride to the polls on Election Day?

Our office cannot provide rides to the polls on Election Day.  Candidates and parties may provide this service.  Contacts for Johnson County Political Parties  If you think you will have difficulty getting to the polls, we encourage you to vote early.

The peak voting times are usually early in the morning, the noon hour, and after 5 p.m.  If you vote at a school, arrival and dismissal time can also be busy.

What happens if I am in line to vote when the polls close?

If you are in line when the polls close, you will be allowed to vote.

Do I have to vote on all the offices and issues on the ballot?

Your vote will be counted whether or not you mark every contest.  We encourage you to be informed on as many issues and candidates as possible.

Counting the Votes

Johnson County has a "precinct count" system, which means ballots are counted by machines in each precinct.  When the polls close, the workers at each precinct print out the results.  The poll workers then report the results. Most precincts now report by modem, but a few still call our office with results.

The results are entered into our computers and released to the public, with frequent updates as each precinct reports in.  There are three ways to get immediate results:

• The most detailed results will be on this web site.  We post a summary of all races, precinct by precinct returns of most contested races, turnout statistics, and early voting statistics.  Once final, these results remain on our web site permanently as a historic record.  Past Election Returns
• On Iowa City cable TV.  We broadcast a rotating total of contested races.  Channels and times will not be available until very close to Election Day.
• At our office in the County Administration Building.  This is a long-standing tradition in Johnson County.  Visitors will see the same broadcast as cable viewers.

We also fax a summary of results to our regular list of news media contacts.

Note that the results on Election Night are unofficial. As the poll workers return their supplies on Election Night, our staff double checks the precinct printouts to make sure they match the results reported by modem and phone, and make any necessary corrections. Our office calls these double checked results "Verified unofficial results," and they are the last numbers reported on Election Night.

Minor changes in results usually occur after Election Night as additional absentee ballots postmarked before Election Day arrive by mail, and as provisional ballots are researched and (if valid) counted.

All results remain unofficial until the canvass, which is the formal certification of results by the members of the Board of Supervisors.  The date varies but is usually the Monday or Tuesday after the election. We leave these official canvassed results on this web site permanently as a historic record. Past election returns are available for most elections back to 1970.

How are absentee ballots counted?

When our office receives a mailed absentee ballot, we open the outer return carrier envelope and inspect the inner affidavit envelope for defects such as a missing signature. If there are any problems, we contact voters so they can fix mistakes.

All absentee and early ballots remain in secrecy folders until Election Day.  On Election Day, a bipartisan Absentee Ballot Board of at least three members opens the ballots and feeds them into a high speed ballot reader.  The results are not announced until the polls are closed. 

If additional absentee ballots with timely postmarks arrive after Election Day, members of the absentee board meet again to count them.

Beginning with the 2008 presidential election, auditors are required to release absentee results by precinct for general elections. For other elections, only absentee grand totals are released.