In total, voters in ten states were able to weigh in on whether or not to expand abortion access in the 2024 Election.

An Iowa Supreme Court ruling this summer allowed Iowa’s abortion ban to take effect. The law bans the procedure once cardiac activity is detected, which can be as early as six weeks of pregnancy.

As the so-called “fetal heartbeat” worked its way through Iowa’s court system, health care providers in neighboring states prepared to field more Iowa patients.

Even before Iowa’s current abortion ban went into effect, other restrictions, like a 24-hour waiting period, provided other obstacles to the procedure. That meant some residents sought out-of-state care. An estimated 940 Iowans sought abortions in Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois in 2023, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.

Candace Gibson, the director of state policy at the Guttmacher Institute, told IPR that with Iowa’s new law, the number of Iowans seeking abortion care out of state would likely increase.

While abortion was not on the ballot in Iowa in 2024, two neighboring states put up ballot measures that could enshrine access to abortion. If access is expanded in neighboring states, Iowans would have more options as they seek care out of state.

In Missouri, voters passed Amendment 3, enshrining abortion rights until fetal viability – around 24 weeks – into the state constitution. Missouri was the first state to ban abortion after the fall of Roe v. Wade. The Republican-led law banned the procedure throughout pregnancy, with exceptions only to save a mother’s life or prevent permanent major injury.

When the new amendment goes into effect in December, Missourians will be able to seek an abortion through fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Missouri Planned Parenthoods have also filed a lawsuit to strike down other abortion restrictions, paving the path for much more access to abortion care for Missouri residents.

With the change, Iowans will have one more neighboring state to access abortion care if cardiac activity has been detected. Minnesota, Illinois and Kansas all have strong protections for abortion.

The vote went a different way in Nebraska, where voters opted to keep a 12-week abortion ban in place.

The state had competing abortion measures on the ballot. One would have expanded abortion access until fetal viability. The one that voters passed enshrines the state’s current 12-week ban into the state’s constitution – and will allow for future restrictions to be put in place.

The Associated Press called the U.S. presidential race for Donald Trump early Wednesday morning, after the former president won Wisconsin.

Trump also easily won Iowa’s six electoral votes, despite a weekend poll that projected that the state could be more purple than previously thought. It’s the third time Trump has won Iowa.

Additionally, Republicans are likely to have a supermajority in both the Iowa House and Senate.

GOP candidates won their races in Iowa’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th congressional district, but the 1st District race between Democrat Christina Bohannon and Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has not yet been called, though Miller-Meeks declared victory and gave a speech Tuesday night.

And, Iowans voted to approve two new constitutional amendments Tuesday night. One amendment changes language regarding voter eligibility from “Every citizen of the United States” to “Only a citizen of the United States.” Current state law only allows U.S. citizens to vote, but the amendment prevents the state from allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections in the future.

The other amendment clarifies the governor’s line of succession. It says that if a governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor takes their place, leaving a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. The new governor can then appoint a new lieutenant governor.

On Tuesday, Missouri voters quashed the state’s highly restrictive abortion ban, which included no exception for pregnancies resulting from rape. The constitutional amendment says that abortion should be legal in the state up until fetal viability.

When the question of abortion goes to voters to decide, they typically vote in favor of abortion rights, an Iowa political expert said. That trend held in Florida — but that state’s ban will remain in place because state constitutional amendments require the approval of 60% of voters, and supporters of abortion rights were a few points short of that.

“I think this is pretty interesting to see that, you know, we have seen that abortion has directly been on the ballot in so many states, and that there has been pretty resounding success for pro-choice activists,” said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

Iowa does not permit citizens to petition to put questions on an election ballot, Kedrowski noted. That ability is generally reserved to the Legislature, which must pass a measure twice, with an election in between, before the question is put to voters.

The recent poll by J. Ann Selzer for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom was “a mini earthquake," according to Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

The poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in Iowa, which has been solidly red since 2016. But Trump ended up gaining a solid win over the state.

Kedrowski said that in a lot of ways, Iowa mirrors the country.

“Its reputation nationally might be that, you know, it’s heavily agriculture, with a lot of corn and pigs, but my argument has always been that Iowa is much more like the rest of the nation than what other people realize,” she said.

Like the rest of the country, Iowans who live in urban centers tend to vote for Democrats; suburban areas tend to swing, and rural areas are more conservative and trend Republican, she said.

Kedrowski said that Trump winning Iowa was within the margin of error of the Selzer poll. but Trump easily won Iowa by 56.3%, with 95.3% of the votes counted.

Even with Iowa Republican Sen. Brad Zaun losing to challenger Matt Blake Tuesday night, Iowa Democrats are likely to continue to have little influence in the Iowa Legislature. Republicans maintain control in both the Iowa House and Senate.

It’s much easier for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to get her agenda through the Legislature when she has solid majorities in both of its chambers, said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

One of the more interesting aspects of the race between Zaun and Blake was that it was very expensive, she said.

“There was a lot of advertising going on, and abortion was one of the main issues in that race,” Kedrowski said.

Kedrowski said that the best-case scenario for Iowa Democrats this election would be to hold onto their current seats and possibly flip a couple. They have about one-third of the seats in both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate.

“I don't think any of the Democrats that I have talked to think they have a reasonable chance of gaining a majority in either the House or the Senate,” she said.

Zaun was seeking his sixth term. In the previous legislative session, he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in Iowa is a distant memory, with Trump rolling up a substantial margin of victory Tuesday night.

The margin of error for that poll, released Saturday night, included the possibility of a narrow Trump victory in Iowa, a politics expert noted. But Trump won the state's 6 electoral college votes by 56.3% according to the Associated Press, with 95% of the votes counted.

Political experts will likely continue to dissect the poll, said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. She reminded Iowans that a poll is a snippet in time.

“When politicians say that the only poll that matters is on Election Day, there’s a lot of truth to that,” she said.

Selzer & Co.’s poll for the Register and Mediacom had Harris ahead of Trump 47% to 44%, with a margin of error reported at 3.4%.

Many U.S. voters have a firm belief that the economy is not doing well right now, and that became a driver in the way they vote, an Iowa politics expert said late Tuesday.

“Those of us of a certain age will remember in 1992 that James Carville, who ran President Clinton’s campaign, his motto was, ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ And I think that really holds true today,” said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

Many voters felt they were doing better financially under the Trump administration than they are doing during the Biden-Harris administration, she said.

Lucius Pham

The Associated Press has called the U.S. presidential race for former President Donald Trump.

Trump won key states Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to reach the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency. As of 5:50 a.m., he had 270 electoral college votes.

"We overcame obstacles that no one thought possible," Trump said in a victory speech before the AP called his race.

Iowa's 6 electoral college votes went to Trump. It's the third time Trump has won the state.

Natalie Krebs

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Iowa Public Radio

Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is declaring victory in her 1st Congressional District race, even though the race hasn’t been officially called in her favor.

As of midnight, the Republican incumbent led Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan by about 400 votes with 97% of the votes reported.

Miller-Meeks declared victory at her watch party at Riverside Casino in eastern Iowa, saying she expects a recount because of the tight margin.

“You know what I've said for the past two years, that instead of a six-pack, we are going to win by at least a case, and we have.”

This race is a rematch of the 2022 election, when Miller-Meeks defeated Bohannan to secure her second term in Congress. She was first elected to the U.S. House in 2020 by just six votes.

Iowa’s 1st District is considered to be one of the most competitive in the country.

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra handily won reelection in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

Feenstra beat Democrat Ryan Melton in a rematch of 2022 by an even bigger margin of more than 40 points. As of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, two counties still needed to report.

Feenstra spoke to supporters in his hometown of Hull Tuesday night after hearing that he will serve a third term in Washington.

“I will deliver conservative results for our friends, for our families, for our small businesses, for our hospitals and education.”

Feenstra says his top goals include securing the southern border, balancing the budget and energy independence.

“Build the wall to make sure we know who's coming in and out to secure the border. And then, number two is we got to get to a balanced budget. We've got to stop inflation, and then finally, we got to become energy-independent using biofuels, using ethanol and biodiesel. These are the things that we can do to help our economy in Iowa and throughout the Midwest.”

The 4th Congressional District is the most conservative in the state and includes 36 counties on the western border and northwest quadrant of Iowa.

Republicans have maintained their majorities in the Iowa House and Senate and likely picked up some seats.

House Republicans appear to have won a supermajority, and Senate Republicans appear to have kept their supermajority.

In the House, Republicans unseated Democratic representatives Sue Cahill of Marshalltown and Chuck Isenhart of Dubuque. Democrat Matt Blake unseated longtime Republican Sen. Brad Zaun in the most expensive statehouse race in Iowa this year.

The Associated Press had not called several legislative races as of 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, and some close races could be headed for recounts.

Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race was too close to call as of midnight Wednesday.

Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan addressed a crowd of supporters at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City.

"Whatever the outcome of this race is, we did something that nobody thought we could do, and I want you all to remember that in the future because you have the power to do amazing things.”

At midnight, Bohannan trailed Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks by 413 votes, with about 97% of the district’s votes counted.

In 2022, Miller-Meeks defeated Bohannan by about 20,000 votes. Miller-Meeks is seeking her third term in Congress.

John Pemble

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Iowa Public Radio

Former President Donald Trump won the state of Iowa and its six Electoral College votes Tuesday night for the third time.

Trump won against Vice President Kamala Harris, taking 56% of the vote in the preliminary results.

The presidential vote was watched especially closely after a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll conducted by J. Ann Selzer released over the weekend found Harris with a slight lead. At a GOP watch party in Des Moines, Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kauffman told the crowd that worked in Trump’s favor.

“You know what happened after we saw the Selzer poll and the Des Moines Register’s sham of a poll? We got even more excited. Donald Trump won!” Kauffman exclaimed to a cheering crowd.

Kauffman went on to call the Iowa Poll, which predicted Trump victories in 2016 and 2020, a “joke” and told Republicans in the crowd they should cancel their subscriptions to the Des Moines Register.

Many U.S. voters have a firm belief that the economy is not doing well right now, and that became a driver in the way they vote, an Iowa politics expert said late Tuesday.

“Those of us, of a certain age, will remember in 1992 that James Carville, who ran President Clinton’s campaign, his motto was, ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ And I think that really holds true today,” said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

Many voters felt they were doing better financially under the Trump administration than they are doing during the Biden-Harris administration, she said.

John Pemble

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Iowa Public Radio

Republican Rep. Zach Nunn has been reelected to a second term representing Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers the Des Moines metro and parts of southern Iowa.

Unofficial results from Election Day show Nunn winning nearly 52% of the vote over Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam, who landed about 48% of the vote.

At a watch party in downtown Des Moines, Nunn told supporters he’ll push for stronger national security and border security in his next term.

“We’ve been fighting for families, for farmers, for main street America. For the real things we can take not only to Washington, but that we’ve proven time and time work here in Iowa can be a playbook for the entire country.”

While Lanon Baccam built a large lead with Democrats in Polk County, Nunn was able to overcome it with support in Dallas County and more rural parts of the 3rd District. Nunn said he salutes Lanon Baccam, a fellow military veteran, for his campaign.

The race was expected to be a close contest. The Cook Political Report, which provides nonpartisan election analysis, ranked the 3rd District as a "toss-up."

John Pemble

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Iowa Public Radio

In the vote for president, Iowa has gone to Donald Trump.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was among the Republicans celebrating at a Hilton hotel in downtown Des Moines. She said Iowa’s support for Trump started in January with the caucuses and carried through Election Day.

“Because we know how much better off we were with President Trump in the White House and we’re looking forward to those days again.”

Republicans have secured 30 seats in the Iowa Senate, with seven seats remaining to be called at midnight.

Republicans have also secured 57 seats in the Iowa House, with 15 seats remaining to be called at midnight.

Grant Leo Winterer

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Iowa Public Radio

Rep. Ashley Hinson has been reelected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Republican from Marion will represent Iowa’s 2nd District. She carried just over 57% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race Tuesday night.

In her victory speech to over 200 supporters in Cedar Rapids, Hinson called her victory a win for Iowa’s conservative values and attacked Washington Democrats’ policies as detrimental to the country.

“They want America to cave. They want us to cave and take a backseat on the global stage. They’re radical, and we are going to stop them.”

This will be Hinson’s third term in Congress, and her second full term representing the 2^nd District.

Iowans have overwhelmingly voted to adopt two amendments to the Iowa Constitution.

One amendment changes language regarding voter eligibility from “Every citizen of the United States” to “Only a citizen of the United States.” Current state law only allows U.S. citizens to vote, but the amendment prevents the state from allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections in the future.

The change also codifies that Iowans who are age 17 can participate in the primary elections if they will be 18 by the general election.

The other amendment clarifies the governor’s line of succession. It says that if a governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor takes their place, leaving a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. The new governor can then appoint a new lieutenant governor.

The AP has called Iowa's 3rd Congressional District for Republican incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn at 11:18 p.m.

Read more.

On Tuesday, Missouri voters quashed the state’s highly restrictive abortion ban, which included no exception for pregnancies resulting from rape. The constitutional amendment says that abortion should be legal in the state up until fetal viability.

When the question of abortion goes to voters to decide, they typically vote in favor of abortion rights, an Iowa political expert said. That trend held in Florida — but that state’s ban will remain in place because state constitutional amendments require the approval of 60% of voters, and supporters of abortion rights were a few points short of that.

“I think this is pretty interesting to see that, you know, we have seen that abortion has directly been on the ballot in so many states, and that there has been pretty resounding success for pro-choice activists,” said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

Iowa does not permit citizens to petition to put questions on an election ballot, Kedrowski noted. That ability is generally reserved to the Legislature, which must pass a measure twice, with an election in between, before the question is put to voters.

Missouri voters have rejected one of the country’s strictest abortion bans. The law bans the procedure throughout pregnancy, with exceptions only to save a mother’s life or prevent permanent major injury.

According to The Associated Press, voters have approved a ballot measure that legalizes abortion until fetal viability. Though the measure is likely to see legal challenges, its ratification could impact Iowans seeking abortion care.

An estimated 940 Iowans sought abortions in Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois in 2023, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.

An Iowa Supreme Court ruling this summer allowed Iowa’s abortion ban to take effect. The law bans the procedure once cardiac activity is detected, which can be as early as six weeks of pregnancy.

Candace Gibson, the director of state policy at the Guttmacher Institute, told IPR that with Iowa’s new law, the number of Iowans seeking abortion care out of state would likely increase.

If abortion access in Missouri is indeed expanded, Iowans will have more options as they seek care out of state.

As of 10:30 p.m., the AP has called six Iowa Senate races. Five of those are in favor of incumbents:

• District 6: Sen. Jason Schultz (R)
• District 8: Sen. Mark Costello (R)
• District 16: Sen. Claire Celsi (D)
• District 34: Sen. Dan Zumbach (R)
• District 48: Sen. Mark Lofgren (R)

One race, District 22, which has been held by Republican Sen. Brad Zaun, has flipped. The AP has called the race for Democratic challenger Matt Blake.

The current balance of the chamber is:

• Republicans: 23
• Democrats: 12

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in Iowa is a distant memory, with Trump rolling up a substantial margin of victory Tuesday night.

The margin of error for that poll, released Saturday night, included the possibility of a narrow Trump victory in Iowa, a politics expert noted. But Trump was on track to win the state by 15% Tuesday, according to incomplete and unofficial results.

Political experts will likely continue to dissect the poll, said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. She reminded Iowans that a poll is a snippet in time.

“When politicians say that the only poll that matters is on Election Day, there’s a lot of truth to that,” Kedrowski said.

Selzer & Co.’s poll for the Register and Mediacom had Harris ahead of Trump 47% to 44%, with a margin of error reported at 3.4%.

Kedrowski said she hasn’t seen any major surprises as of just before 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“I mean, the battleground states are still very, very close, though it does seem to be turning into a pretty good night for former President Trump,” she said.

Several more Iowa representatives have won reelection, according to the AP. The additional races that have been called are:

• District 5: Zach Dieken (R)
• District 7: Michael Sexton (R)
• District 11: Craig Steven Williams (R)
• District 12: Steven Holt (R)
• District 21: Brooke Boden (R)
• District 22: Samantha Fett (R) - replacing Stanley Gustafson (R)
• District 23: Ray Sorensen (R)
• District 26: Austin Harris (R)
• District 42: Heather Matson (D)
• District 57: Pat Grassley (R)
• District 66: Dr. Steven Bradley (R)
• District 68: Chad Ingels (R)
• District 69: Tom Determann (R)
• District 70: Norlin Mommsen (R)
• District 71: Lindsay James (D)
• District 79: Tracy Ehlert (D)
• District 95: Taylor Collins (R)
• District 99: Matthew Rinker (R)

This brings the current balance of seats in the Iowa House of Representatives to:

• Republicans: 35
• Democrats: 25

At this time, 40 seats are left to be called.

The AP called Iowa's Congressional District 2 for Republican incumbent Rep. Ashley Hinson at 10:07 p.m.

Even with Iowa Republican Sen. Brad Zaun losing to challenger Matt Blake Tuesday night, Iowa Democrats are likely to continue to have little influence in the Iowa Legislature.

It’s much easier for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to get her agenda through the Legislature when she has solid majorities in both of its chambers, said Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University.

One of the more interesting aspects of the race between Zaun and Blake was that it was very expensive, she said.

“There was a lot of advertising going on, and abortion was one of the main issues in that race,” Kedrowski said.

Kedrowski said that the best-case scenario for Iowa Democrats this election would be to hold onto their current seats and possibly flip a couple. They have about one-third of the seats in both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate.

“I don't think any of the Democrats that I have talked to think they have a reasonable chance of gaining a majority in either the House or the Senate,” she said.

Zaun was seeking his sixth term. In the previous legislative session, he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Iowans have adopted two amendments to the Iowa Constitution, according to the Associated Press.

One amendment changes language regarding voting eligibility from “Every citizen of the United States” to “Only a citizen of the United States.” Current state law only allows U.S. citizens to vote, but the amendment prevents the state from allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections in the future. According to partial results reported by the AP at 10 p.m., 75.5% voted yes on the amendment and 24.5% voted no.

The other amendment clarifies the governor’s line of succession. It says that if a governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor takes their place, leaving a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. The new governor can then appoint a new lieutenant governor. Partial results reported by the AP at 10 p.m. show 80.7% voted yes on the amendment and 19.4% voted no.

Read more.

Several Iowa representatives have won reelection, according to the AP. The races that have been called for incumbents are:

• District 3: Thomas Jeneary (R)
• District 16: David Sieck (R)
• District 27: Kenan Judge (D)
• District 30: Megan Srinivas (D)
• District 33: Ruth Ann Gaines (D)
• District 35: Sean Bagniewski (D)
• District 39: Rick Olson (D)
• District 45: Brian Lohse (R)
• District 26: Dan Gehlbach (R)
• District 65: Shannon Lundgren (R)
• District 84: Thomas Gerhold (R)

Additionally, Travis Sitzmann (R) was elected to the District 13 seat vacated by Ken Carlson (R) and Larry McBurney (D) was elected to the District 44 seat vacated by John Forbes (D). This brings the current balance of seats in the Iowa House of Representatives to:

• Republicans: 20
• Democrats: 22

Congressional District 4 has been called for incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra by the AP.

Lucius Pham

/

Iowa Public Radio

The AP has called Iowa for former President Donald Trump at 9:40 p.m. CT.

Iowa has six Electoral College votes.

The recent poll by J. Ann Selzer for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom was “a mini earthquake.”

That’s how Karen Kedrowski, professor and director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, described the poll that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in Iowa, which has been solidly red since 2016.

Kedrowski said that in a lot of ways, Iowa mirrors the country. “Its reputation nationally might be that, you know, it’s heavily agriculture, with a lot of corn and pigs, but my argument has always been that Iowa is much more like the rest of the nation than what other people realize,” she said.

Like the rest of the country, Iowans who live in urban centers tend to vote for Democrats; suburban areas tend to swing, and rural areas are more conservative and trend Republican, she said.

Kedrowski said that Trump winning Iowa is within the margin of error of the Selzer poll. “So it’s possible that Trump was actually ahead, but only by a whisker, right? Because it would have been very close, but that, secondly, that the very competitive congressional races might have actually been driving voters over to the Democratic Party, which, from a political science perspective, kind of flips the script.

“Normally, we see that presidential vote choice leads to coattails for lower-ballot races. But in this case, you would see that the very competitive House races might be stimulating more support for Vice President Harris than what we might expect otherwise,” Kedrowski said.

The AP has called Iowa’s Senate District 22 race for Democrat Matt Blake. With the win, Blake will help Democrats chip away at the supermajority in the Iowa Senate.

In an interview with IPR, Blake said his top legislative priority would be to increase the quality of life in Iowa. He cited general underfunding and attacks on the public education system.

Sen. Brad Zaun was seeking his fifth term. In the previous legislative session, he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Lucius Pham

/

Iowa Public Radio

The Associated Press has called the Iowa House District 34 race for Democrat Rob Johnson. He will replace retiring Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad.

The Associated Press has called the Iowa Senate District 16 race for Democratic incumbent Rep. Claire Celsi.

Results are starting to trickle in as precincts across the state closed at 8 p.m.

The polls in Iowa closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, though people waiting in line will still be able to cast their ballots.

Many nationwide will be watching as results come in from Iowa after the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed the state could go for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Iowa Public Radio will report results as determined by The Associated Press. The AP has called winners in elections for more than 170 years and will determine how nearly 5,000 races across the country shake out in 2024.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

How are winners determined? 

The AP calls races through a careful and thorough analysis of vote counts and a variety of other election data. Unlike some outlets, the AP doesn’t “project” winners.

Only when AP is fully confident a race has been won – defined most simply as the moment the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory – will they make a call.

IPR is following the presidential race, congressional races, constitutional amendments, judicial retention votes and several key Statehouse races. We’ll report here as AP determines the winners.

Some races could take longer to call than others 

There are several tight races in the 2024 election. While some winners will be determined quickly, others may be harder to call according to the AP’s standards.

In 2020, the AP declared Joe Biden the winner of the presidential race four days after polls closed. In 2016, the election was decided in just a few hours.

Learn more about how results are counted and reported.

What do I do in the meantime?

Research shows an estimated 94 million Americans perceive politics as a significant source of stress. To put it plainly, election anxiety is a thing.

Therapist Laurel Roberts-Meese has some ideas for how to cope. She said this election, check your trusted news sources, but limit how long you spend on social media so you’re not overexposed to disturbing content.

“You can be an activist and not just be constantly doom scrolling,” Roberts-Meese said. “In fact, you're going to have more capacity to be an activist if you're not constantly stressing yourself out.”

Therapists say it may be a good idea to skip the live updates on election night and instead spend time journaling, solving a puzzle or taking a walk.

If that’s not your thing, follow along here.

The results of the November election will show whether Iowa Democrats are able to chip away at the supermajority Republicans hold in the state Senate.

Among the Iowa House of Representatives races on 2024 ballots are key Senate districts: District 14, District 20, District 22 and District 38.

IPR News contacted candidates in each key race to ask them about their positions on important issues.

Voters in Waukee, Adel, Van Meter and parts of West Des Moines and Clive will either reelect Democratic Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott or elect her Republican challenger Mark Hanson to represent Senate District 14 in the Iowa Legislature.

Voters in Senate District 20 — which covers parts of East Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, South Ankeny and Altoona — will decide whether to reelect Democratic Sen. Nate Boulton or his Republican challenger, Mike Pike.

In Senate District 22, which largely covers the Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, Republican Sen. Brad Zaun is up for reelection against Democrat Matt Blake.

Voters in Iowa’s Senate District 38 will choose between two Cedar Falls residents next week: Democrat incumbent Eric Giddens and his Republican challenger Dave Sires. The district covers parts of Black Hawk, Tama and northwest Benton counties.

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Harris and Trump signs are dotted among the houses in Des Moines, Iowa’s east side neighborhood. Here, voters are casting their ballot at VFW Post 738 with the state Capitol building in view.

Madeleine Charis King / Iowa Public Radio

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Poll workers say the site has been active throughout the day. One says he brought a copy of True Grit to reread — he says Mattie is one of his favorite female protagonists of all time — but hasn’t had a chance to crack it open yet.

Madeleine Charis King / Iowa Public Radio

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Born and raised in Des Moines, Ian Kelley walked to the polls Tuesday afternoon. Kelley says he’s feeling “alright” about the election, but hopes the results swing in his side’s favor.

Madeleine Charis King / Iowa Public Radio

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Astrid Paquett said they were nervous about voting for the first time and that they mainly came to the polls “out of spite” after hearing people “not shut up about it.” Paquett’s dad, Nicholas Dolden, brought them to the polls Tuesday after casting his ballot earlier in the day. Dolden says he’s “feeling good” about the election. He says he’s “ready for something better,” citing high prices and a hurting economy. Dolden says he wants a better sense of security and community coming out of Tuesday’s vote.

Madeleine Charis King / Iowa Public Radio

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One voter, who asked to remain anonymous saying they didn’t want any backlash as they work their way up in a trade job, says they wish they had found more information about a local sheriff race — Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider, a Democrat, ran unopposed. This voter said they’re anxious about how the outcome might stir up more trouble in the country after 2020’s “big squabble.”

Madeleine Charis King / Iowa Public Radio

Harris and Trump signs are dotted among the houses in Des Moines' east side neighborhood leading up to VFW Post 738. Here, voters cast their ballot Tuesday afternoon with the state capitol building in view.

Among the Iowa House of Representatives races on 2024 ballots are six highly competitive House districts: District 20, District 40, District 41, District 42, District 43 and District 80.

IPR News contacted candidates in each key race to ask them about their positions on important issues.

District 20: Democrat Josh Turek won the election to the Iowa Legislature by a slim margin in 2022. Voters in the heavily red district will decide between the incumbent or Republican James Wassell. Both men shared their views on a wide range of topics.

District 40: Voters in Altoona, part of southern Ankeny, a small northeast part of Des Moines, and some unincorporated areas in between have the choice to elect Republican Rep. Bill Gustoff or Democratic challenger Heather Sievers to represent District 40 in the Iowa House of Representatives.

District 41: Molly Buck is one of more than 30 Democratic incumbents looking to secure a seat again in the Republican-controlled Iowa House. She faces Republican challenger Ryan Weldon. For voters in House District 41, education and tax reform could be key issues.

District 42: In House District 42, which covers parts of the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny, Democratic incumbent Rep. Heather Matson faces Republican challenger Heather Stephenson.

District 43: Voters in the Des Moines suburb of Johnston and in parts of Urbandale and Saylorville have the choice to elect Republican Rep. Eddie Andrews or his Democratic challenger Tiara Mays-Sims.

District 80: Residents of Hiawatha, Robins and northeast Cedar Rapids in District 80 will have the chance for change this November, as current Iowa House of Representatives incumbent Art Staed is eyeing an Iowa Senate seat in a neighboring district. Voters have the choice between current Hiawatha City Council member Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat, or first-time candidate and Cedar Rapids Republican John Thompson.

Iowa's House of Representative is comprised of 100 individuals, representing individual districts throughout Iowa. The House and Iowa Senate combined represent the legislative branch of Iowa government. The House is empowered to create laws and establish the state budget. Elected representatives are responsible for passing bills on public policy, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.

Currently, Republicans control the majority in the chamber, with 64 elected representatives against the Democrats' elected 36. A supermajority in the chamber is attained when 67 seats are held by one party. All 100 representatives are elected to serve a two-year term, and all are up for election in the 2024 election cycle.

That means Democrats would need to flip 15 seats to regain a majority in the House, while Republicans would need to gain 3 seats to gain a supermajority.

In the 2024 election cycle, a total of 28 candidates are running unopposed. Prior to election results being reported, there are 13 members of the GOP and 15 members of the Democratic party known to be part of the new House.

Among the races on Iowans' ballots in 2024 are six highly competitive districts: District 20, District 40, District 41, District 42, District 43 and District 80.

See results as they come in.

All four Republican incumbents in Iowa’s congressional districts face a Democratic challenger this year, but only two races are considered competitive.

1st District: In the last presidential election, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her Congressional seat by six votes. This year, her race is a toss-up, and neither she nor Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan are taking any votes for granted. Read more about the 1st District race.

2nd District: Republican incumbent Rep. Ashley Hinson and first-time candidate Democrat Sarah Corkery have distinct visions for the future of Iowa's 2nd District. And while Hinson’s campaign is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, her opponent, Democrat Sarah Corkery, is campaigning essentially from her kitchen table. Read more about the 2nd District race. 

3rd District: This is the first congressional race since Iowa's controversial abortion restrictions took effect, making abortion a popular topic for Democrats on the campaign trail. In Iowa's 3rd District, where the seat often flips parties, significant outside spending and polarizing ads could influence this year's tight race. Read more about the 3rd District race.

4th District: When voters in the 4th District fill out their ballots for the U.S. House of Representatives, they will see two familiar names: Republican incumbent Rep. Randy Feenstra and Democrat Ryan Melton. Two years ago, Feenstra won by a landslide. But one issue could make a difference for the challenger this time around: eminent domain. Read more about the 4th District race.

Voters in Story and Johnson counties will decide this November whether to approve bonds to help fund conservation and recreation projects.

If passed by voters, the bond in Story County would generate $25 million over two decades. The money would be used for things like adding more ADA-compliant paths at Hickory Grove Park and completing the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail. It would also help pay to restore wetlands and reduce erosion along the Skunk River.

Nancy Franz, who is on the Story County Conservation Board, passed out brochures about the bond to parents during a recent trick-or-treat event at Hickory Grove Park.

She says the county park is a destination in central Iowa, but water quality is a big challenge.

“The geese love our swimming beach because they can sit there and look 360 degrees and not be attacked by a predator. And when they do that, they leave their feces, and the E. coli closes the beach when it gets to a certain level.”

The bond would help fund the construction of grassy terraces to deter geese.

“For me, it’s about everybody having access to the out-of-doors and outdoor experiences. Everyone has a right to that, and this bond will help that be possible for more people. So it has to do with recreation and education and preservation related to natural resources in Story County.”

Property taxes for a median household in Story County would increase by less than $3 per month. This is Story County's first attempt at passing a conservation measure.

Johnson County passed one in 2008 and has a new, $30 million conservation bond on the ballot this November.

Both measures require at least 60% of the public vote to pass.

Read the full story from IPR's Natalie Dunlap.

This year, Iowans will consider two amendment proposals, making the final decision on whether they will be enshrined in the state constitution.

One of the constitutional amendments Iowans will vote on this year is about the state’s gubernatorial line of succession. Iowans will vote on whether to repeal and replace a section of the Iowa constitution dealing with what happens if an Iowa governor resigns, dies or is removed from office.

The proposed new language would clarify that in these circumstances, the lieutenant governor will take over the position of governor until the end of the elected term. The measure also clarifies that this change will create a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, allowing the new governor to appoint a new lieutenant governor to fill the position.

This issue came up after Gov. Kim Reynolds — formerly lieutenant governor under former Gov. Terry Branstad — took the top office when Branstad resigned to join former President Donald Trump’s administration as U.S. ambassador to China. While Reynolds became governor, former Attorney General Tom Miller issued a legal opinion in 2017 that stated Reynolds had technically not vacated the position of lieutenant governor, and could not formally appoint someone to the position.

Reynolds appointed former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg to the position in May 2017. However, until he and Reynolds won reelection in 2018, the person to fill the office of governor if Reynolds left would have been then-Senate President Jack Whitver.

Another proposed constitutional amendment would codify in the state constitution that 17-year-olds are allowed to vote in primary elections if they will be age 18 by the general election, in addition to modifying the voting age from 21 to 18. These voting age regulations are already in practice under state law, but would simply be added to the state constitution if voters approve the measure in the general election.

The amendment also includes a language change, replacing the wording that “every citizen of the United States” who meets voter requirements can participate in the state’s elections to instead state “only a citizen of the United States” with needed qualifications can vote.

Read the full story.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that three Libertarian candidates for Congress cannot be on the ballot in this fall’s election because the Libertarian Party of Iowa failed to follow state law for nominating candidates by convention.

The final decision came two weeks after 1st Congressional District candidate Nicholas Gluba, 3rd District candidate Marco Battaglia and 4th District candidate Charles Aldrich were first kicked off the ballot.

Republican officials on the State Objection Panel removed the Libertarian candidates from the ballot because they held their county conventions the same day as their caucuses and did not report delegates to county auditors.

The candidates appealed, but the Polk County District Court and the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the panel’s decision.

The Iowa Supreme Court rejected the candidates’ argument that substantial compliance with the law was good enough. The court wrote the candidates could have qualified for the ballot by collecting signatures, but they chose to go the alternate route of the convention process.

The Libertarians said they will run for Congress as write-in candidates.

Libertarian Party of Iowa Chair Jules Cutler said Republicans fear the impact of Libertarians being on the ballot in competitive races. The 1st and 3rd District races are seen as competitive this year, and the lack of Libertarian candidates on those ballots could make a difference.

Read the full story from IPR’s Katarina Sostaric.

Still need to vote? Enter your address into our sample ballot tool to see who's running for elected office, constitutional amendments for decision and judges facing retention decisions.

Note that the sample ballot may not have all races listed that will appear on your actual ballot, which primarily affects certain county-level and judicial retention questions. To see a complete sample ballot, check your county auditor's website.

At 42 million-strong, many political pundits are watching how Gen-Z, those between the ages of 18 and 27, will vote in this election.

IPR’s River to River went on the road to hear from young voters at a conversation held at Drake University, discussing gun violence, the 2024 presidential candidates, abortion and climate change. Listen to the conversation and read more about the issues that motivate young voters.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May is the only Iowa Supreme Court justice up for retention in the 2024 election.

In a retention vote, there is no other candidate. Voters simply indicate on the back of their ballot whether or not they want the justice to be retained (kept in office.) Usually, these retention votes pass with little fanfare. This year is, perhaps, a bit different.

This summer, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy can go into effect. May was one of the justices who voted for this decision. A group called Iowans for Reproductive Freedom began encouraging voters not to retain May.

But there are heated debates about what should inform a voter’s choice on retention, as well as the purpose of a judicial retention election.

Scott Peters, a professor and the head of the University of Northern Iowa’s political science department, said he doesn’t believe the common perception that the way the judiciary handles disputes of the laws can be separate from politics.

“Courts are empowered by the state to give authoritative renderings about what laws mean, and their decisions are backed by the power of the state,” he said. “Everything courts do is political.”

And if politics is already involved in the process, Peters said, then the retention decision is where voters get to weigh in.

Guy Cook, the former president of the Iowa State Bar Association and a double board-certified trial lawyer, disagreed with Peters' analysis. He argues that justices should not be punished by voters for one decision they make, and that to do so would undermine judicial independence.“

The retention election is not a referendum on a particular decision,” Cook said. “We don't have that process in Iowa. It's a question of whether the judge is doing his job. Is he following the code of conduct? Has he engaged in misconduct or not?”

He said voters should look at the Iowa State Bar Association’s review of judges to inform their vote.

Read more from IPR's Natalie Dunlap.

When asked, “Do you believe things in the United States are headed in the right direction or do you believe things are on the wrong track?” about 70% of respondents to a set of new polls from The Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling across Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska answered “the wrong track.”

The Midwest Newsroom partnered with Emerson College Polling to conduct surveys of registered voters in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2. The sample size was 1,000 persons in each state, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3% and a 95% confidence level.

The four polls included specific questions about issues on Nov. 5 ballots in each state in addition to topics and themes that are not on ballots, but have become prominent features of public discourse.

The questions on each poll were crafted through a collaborative effort between The Midwest Newsroom’s partners and Emerson College polling.

A few findings on Iowa:

• When asked whether Iowa's abortion law is too strict, not strict enough, or about right, 56% of respondents answered "too strict."
• 63.5% of respondents said they supported eliminating the Iowa state income tax.
• When asked to rate the job Iowa state government officials were doing at handling the economy, 11.1% of respondents rated it “Excellent,” 38.7% “Good,” 33.7% “Not so good” and 16.5% “Poor.”

Read more about the poll results.

Rachel Cramer

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Iowa Public Radio

Polling stations in Story County had a steady flow of voters Tuesday morning. Several shared with IPR News what issues matter to them.

“I’m Jessica Blake, I live here in Colo. The attitude of the candidate means a lot to me. I like to see somebody who is not going to create more drama, more issues and, you know, question things like the integrity of our election.”

Another voter weighed in on what policies matter most to her.

“I’m Glenda Swegle, and I’m from Nevada, Iowa. I tend to vote on who’s going to keep our taxes lower and really concentrate more on people who create jobs and help people instead of tearing them down.”

For one voter in Story County, unity and God are top of mind.

“My name’s Brody Benton. We live just south of Ames, between Ames and Cambridge. We need to have unity as Americans, and in the end, that’s all centered around God and how he’s leading our country.”

Polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can check VoterReady.Iowa.gov to find their polling place.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Polls close at different times across the country. In Iowa, in-person voting in ends at 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. Absentee ballots must also be received by this time. States will begin reporting election results after their polls close.

If you are in line before your voting site closes, you can still cast your ballot.

Many nationwide will be watching Iowa's results after the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed the state could go for Vice President Kamala Harris. The survey results came as a surprise to many after former President Donald Trump won Iowa handily in both 2016 and 2020.

Eyes will also be on Iowa's two "toss-up" congressional districts, the 1st and the 3rd, which could impact the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Some results may come quickly, while other races will be harder to call. Iowa Public Radio will report results as determined by The Associated Press.

This year, all four Republican incumbents in Iowa’s Congressional Districts each face a Democratic challenger, but only two races are considered competitive.

In Iowa’s 1st District, former state Rep. Christina Bohannan faces Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Bohannan last ran for Congress in 2022, when she lost to Miller-Meeks by about 20,000 votes. In 2020, Miller-Meeks ran for the U.S. House against Rita Hart and won by a margin of six votes, one of the closest federal elections in U.S. history.

The Cook Political Report, which provides nonpartisan election analysis, has ranked Miller-Meeks' seat in the 1st District as a "toss up." It’s one of only about 25 races that has a good chance of going either way, along with Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.

Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson faces Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery in Iowa’s 2nd District. Hinson has represented Iowa's 1st and 2nd districts in the U.S. Congress since 2021. Corkery says she entered the race after a conversation with Rep. Hinson regarding a bill that — at first — Hinson refused to sign.

In Iowa’s 3rd District, Democrat Lanon Baccam is up against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn. Nunn is a veteran who has represented the 3rd District since 2023. Baccam served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has also served in the Iowa Army National Guard.

Voters in the 3rd District might be familiar with the swinging nature of the U.S. House seat. Ten years ago, it was held by a Republican before turning Democratic when Cindy Axne unseated incumbent David Young. Four years later, in 2022, Nunn won by less than a percentage point in the newly redrawn district.

Finally, Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra faces Democratic congressional candidate Ryan Melton in Iowa’s 4th District. Feenstra has represented Iowa's 4th District in the U.S. Congress since 2021, when he defeated opponent J.D. Scholten in the general election, after defeating former Rep. Steve King in the primary election. Melton is a native of Nevada, Iowa, and is an insurance manager. He has campaigned this cycle on eminent domain, cancer and health care.

See results as they come in for Iowa’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Districts.

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Lucius Pham

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Lucius Pham

Voters on Des Moines’ south side hit the polls Tuesday morning at a Holiday Inn near the airport.

Abortion has been a major topic in the 2024 election, and Democrats in Iowa leaned hard on reproductive rights to win them seats.

This year stands out because it's the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion nationwide, and an Iowa Supreme Court decision that lowered protections for abortion in the state constitution. These rulings paved the way for Iowa’s new “fetal heartbeat” law to go into effect this summer. Recent polling shows a majority of Iowans disapprove of the new law, and Democratic candidates are relying on that to sway voters.

Read more from IPR’s Natalie Krebs.

In 2024, 25 of 50 seats are up for election. This year, the seats on the ballot represent Iowa's even-numbered Senate districts. Odd-numbered districts are not on the ballot.

Currently, Republicans control the majority in the chamber, with 33 elected representatives against the Democrats' elected 16. One seat, previously held by a Republican, is currently vacant. A supermajority in the chamber is attained when 34 seats are held by one party.

In the 2024 election cycle, a total of four candidates are running unopposed. Prior to election results being reported, there are 19 members of the GOP and 10 members of the Democratic party known to be part of the new Senate.

Among the races on Iowans' ballots in 2024 are four highly competitive districts:

• District 14: Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott faces Republican challenger Mark Hanson
• District 20: Incumbent Democratic Sen. Nate Boulton faces Republican challenger Mike Pike
• District 22: Incumbent Republican Sen. Brad Zaun faces Democratic challenger Matt Blake
• District 38: Incumbent Democratic Sen. Eric Giddens faces Republican challenger Dave Sires

See results as they come in here.

Election Day is Tuesday, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Iowans who aren’t registered to vote yet can register at their polling place. You can find your polling place at voterready.iowa.gov.

All voters need to show an accepted ID to vote. For most people, that’s an Iowa driver’s license or state ID. Voters who moved recently or need to register to vote may also need to show proof of residence, such as a utility bill.

Iowans who voted by mail need to make sure their absentee ballot is received by their county auditor by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. You can check the absentee ballot tracker at voterready.iowa.gov to make sure it was received.

Voters who still have an absentee ballot at home can complete it and bring it to their county auditor’s or elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, or they can surrender the absentee ballot at their polling place and vote in person.

Find out more information on voting in Iowa.

Immigration and border security have become central issues in this year’s election. Iowa Republicans and Democrats running for Congress say they want to crack down on illegal border crossings and work to stop fentanyl from getting into the country, but they talk about the issues in very different ways.

What Iowa Republicans are saying: In campaign speeches and TV ads, Iowa Republicans running for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives have cast unauthorized immigrants as dangerous, and they’ve called for cracking down on illegal border crossings as a way to reduce violent crime and deadly fentanyl overdoses. They have claimed that the country has an “open border.”

What Iowa Democrats are saying: Democrats running for Congress in Iowa have also tapped into voters’ concerns about the border, increasingly talking about it in campaign ads and speeches. But they focus less on crime and danger, and more on what they say is their Republican opponents’ failure to act.

Where they agree: Despite political attacks around immigration, Republicans and Democrats are now endorsing some very similar policies. Candidates from both parties say they want more law enforcement resources at the border.

Republicans, however, have also called for building more sections of border wall, making asylum seekers stay in Mexico while waiting for immigration hearings and for stepping up efforts to deport people with criminal convictions.

After the election, it will remain to be seen if Democrats and Republicans in Congress can agree on meaningful changes to immigration policies. The last time they did was more than two decades ago.

Read the full story from IPR’s Katarina Sostaric.

If you’re voting absentee in this year’s election, there’s still time to bring your completed absentee ballot to your county auditor's office or county elections office. The ballot must be received by your county auditor by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. Some counties have a ballot drop box.

At this point, it is too late to mail your completed ballot back to your county auditor. It must be dropped off in person. If you’ve already mailed your absentee ballot, election officials recommend checking the secretary of state’s website to see what date it was received by your county auditor.

Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said Iowans who mailed their ballot should check the online ballot tracker to make sure it was received. If it’s Election Day and your ballot isn’t showing up on the tracker, Fitzgerald noted that you should do the following:

“We want you to go to your polling site, and you vote what’s called a provisional ballot if we don’t know if your ballot’s been received yet," Fitzgerald said. "You’ll say, 'I sent my ballot. It didn’t get in.' And then that’s a way that we make sure that you don’t get two votes.”

If a voter needs assistance and wants someone else to deliver their absentee ballot to their county auditor, that person must be someone living in the voter’s household, an immediate family member or the election official who delivers a ballot to a resident of a health care facility or hospital. They can deliver the ballot to the county auditor’s office or the ballot drop box outside the office if available.

If one of those options is not available to a voter who is unable to return their own ballot because of blindness or other disability, they can ask someone else to be a "delivery agent" and return their ballot. The "delivery agent" must be a registered voter in Iowa and cannot be the voter’s employer, an officer of the voter’s union or an actual or implied agent for a political party, candidate or committee. The voter must complete and sign a designation form. The “delivery agent” must deliver the ballot in person to the county auditor’s office along with the form, and must show their own identification and sign a statement that they’ve complied with the law. The delivery agent is not allowed to use the ballot drop box or the mail to return the ballot. The delivery agent must provide the voter with a receipt and cannot deliver more than two absentee ballots per election.

You can surrender your absentee ballot and vote at your regular polling place. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to find your polling place.

Iowa election officials have been working to test all the vote counting machines that will be used in this fall’s election. It’s a routine process that helps ensure Iowans’ votes are counted accurately.

When Iowans go to vote in person, they will take their completed paper ballot and place it in their polling place’s vote counting machine. The testing underway now helps make sure that if there are any problems with the ballot — like marking too many candidates — the machine will flag them.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he wants Iowans to feel confident that the election results are correct.

“The pretesting we’re doing today is to let them know that the technology is working. And it’s public testing, so everyone can watch and monitor it. We have paper ballots — let’s not forget that that’s a way for us to be able to go back and do a complete review if we need to.”

Pate says each county also conducts post-election audits to check again that the vote counting machines worked properly.

People in communities with higher levels of civic engagement have better physical and mental health, according to public health experts.

One literary summary from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that people who are members of civic groups are more likely to be physically active because expanding their social network made them aware of more ways to get out and get moving. Another study from Social Science & Medicine found that volunteering in a community can increase psychological well-being by reducing stress. Adults 60 and older can especially benefit from volunteering, as noted in a study from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, which found that volunteers had a lower risk of cognitive impairment.

Civic participation can mean political acts such as voting, but it also includes community gardening, volunteering, playing recreational sports and attending religious services.

Civic engagement has been declining. Fewer people know their neighbors, and people are less likely to run for local boards and commissions, such as school boards. Getting involved — especially in a time that has become increasingly isolated due to technology and the long-term impacts of the pandemic — can be intimidating.

Anjali Deshpande, a clinical associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, said community organizers should be deliberate about actively inviting people into community spaces, going further than just putting up a flyer about an event. She said it’s especially important to reach out to people from groups historically excluded, such as people with disabilities.

Listen to the full conversation on IPR’s Talk of Iowa podcast.

Iowa residents who are U.S. citizens and will be at least 18 years old on Election Day can register to vote in the November election. You can check your registration status here.

Iowans can register to vote at their polling place on Nov. 5. You may need to bring additional documents to prove your residency. Note that the deadlines to register by mail or online have passed.

Polling places are open on Election Day, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Absentee ballots must be received by your county auditor by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Qualifications to vote in the November 2024 election:

• Iowa resident
• U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years old on Election Day, Nov. 5

People judged mentally incompetent to vote by a court, people who claim the right to vote elsewhere and some people with felony convictions are not qualified to register to vote. But many Iowans with felony convictions who have completed their sentences are now eligible to vote. Find information about voting with a felony conviction here.

Madeleine Charis King

Election Day is Tuesday, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Iowans who aren’t registered to vote yet can register at their polling place. You can find your polling place at voterready.iowa.gov.

All voters need to show an accepted ID to vote. For most people, that’s an Iowa driver’s license or state ID. Voters who moved recently or need to register to vote may also need to show proof of residence, such as a utility bill.

Iowans who voted by mail need to make sure their absentee ballot is received by their county auditor by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. You can check the absentee ballot tracker at voterready.iowa.gov to make sure it was received.

Voters who still have an absentee ballot at home can complete it and bring it to their county auditor’s or elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, or they can surrender the absentee ballot at their polling place and vote in person.

Find out more information on voting in Iowa.

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Early voting line in Johnson County Monday, Nov. 4.

Caitlin Troutman / Iowa Public Radio

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Early voting line in Johnson County Monday, Nov. 4.

Samantha McIntosh / Iowa Public Radio

Vehicles lined the street near the Johnson County Administration Building in Iowa City, where drive-thru and in-person absentee voting was available Monday.

The line persisted throughout the day on the final day to vote early. At times, cars blocked the railroad crossing north of Lafayette St. and S. Clinton St.

Most early voting sites were open through 5 p.m. Monday.

Polls open on Election Day at 7 a.m. and stay open through 8 p.m. If you are voting Tuesday and need to find your polling place, visit the Secretary of State’s website.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is hosting an Election Relief Puppy Paw-ty for anyone who “needs some relief from all the paw-litics.”

Visitors can come snuggle a litter of puppies during one of the 30-minute time slots at the ARL’s main location in Des Moines.

The event will be held Wednesday, Nov. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for puppy cuddles and a beverage.

All proceeds go to the ARL.

Election Day can be stressful, but if you’re planning on voting in person Nov. 5, making a plan ahead of time can ensure a smooth process when casting your vote.

Know when and where to vote

Polls on Election Day, Nov. 5, are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for in-person voting. Tuesday is also the final day you can return an absentee ballot. If you work on Election Day, decide when you could fit voting into your schedule. Some professions and workplaces provide time off to go vote.

Once you know when you’ll vote, locate your polling place.

Research who will be on the ballot

Candidates for president, Iowa’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives, two constitutional amendments, candidates for Iowa Legislature, county officials and judges up for retention votes are on the ballot. Check out our Election Guide to read up about your choices.

Know what to bring

You’ll need a form of ID in order to vote. Any of these will be accepted:

• Iowa Driver’s License
• Iowa Non-Operator ID
• Iowa Voter Identification Card
• Military ID or Veteran ID
• U.S. Passport
• Tribal ID Card/Document

If you don’t have any of these forms of ID, you can bring Election Day registration documents or have another voter registered in the precinct attest to your identity. If you don’t have any of those with you, poll workers should offer you a provisional ballot. You can vote the provisional ballot, and if you return to the county election office with proper ID in the days following Election Day, your vote will get counted.

Iowans can also register to vote at their polling place on Election Day. If you need to register or if you have moved recently and your ID doesn’t have your current address on it, be prepared to show proof of residence.

One month before the general election, a sense of pessimism about life in the U.S. unites many residents of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, according to a set of new polls from The Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling.

The Midwest Newsroom partnered with Emerson College Polling to conduct surveys of registered voters in these midwestern states between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2. The sample size was 1,000 persons in each state, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3% and a 95% confidence level.

When asked, “Do you believe things in the United States are headed in the right direction or do you believe things are on the wrong track?” about 70% of the respondents across these states answered “the wrong track.”

Emerson Polling Communications Director Camille Mumford said it is not unusual for Republicans to express pessimism about life under a Democratic administration and vice versa. All four states in the poll lean strongly Republican.

“Considering Joe Biden is the president right now, most Republicans in the survey were saying that the United States is on the wrong track and most Democrats saying it’s headed in the right direction,” Mumford said. “So, a larger majority of respondents in these states will say we’re on the wrong track.”

When asked, “Do you favor or oppose your state government passing laws that ban certain books from school classrooms and libraries?” more than half of the respondents said they oppose book bans, while under one third said they are in favor of the bans.

Schools and libraries across the Midwest have become a battleground for book challenges over the past few years. Some states have passed laws making it a crime to give children certain library books.

Read more of the results here.

Graphic by Madeleine C. King

The election results in November will reset the balance of power in the Iowa Statehouse. In House District 41, which covers northern Ankeny, voters will choose whether to elect Democratic incumbent Rep. Molly Buck or her Republican challenger Ryan Weldon.

Buck says she would like to see the Iowa Legislature codify Roe v. Wade. She also supports adding more protections in the law to make sure people have access to fertility treatments and contraception. She calls the current laws a “slippery slope” and says legislators need to make sure they are not limiting Iowans’ rights.

Weldon says he doesn’t think access to fertility treatments or contraception are in jeopardy under the current abortion restrictions, and therefore thinks more protections are not necessary. He says he doesn’t think it's “good practice” to create laws based on fears of what could happen in the future.

Turning to income tax, Weldon says he supports Gov. Kim Reynolds’ goal of eliminating the income tax by the end of her current term. He says he doesn’t think the state will face a budget shortfall without the tax and supports the state’s practice of lowering it over time.

“I believe that the money is better spent by the people who earn it, rather than the government spending it, and so that stimulates the economy.”

Buck says while eliminating the tax sounds good in theory, she worries the state could raise other taxes to make up for any drop in revenue. She says legalizing marijuana could help increase revenues coming into the state.         

Read more from the candidates about where they stand on key issues.

The head of the country’s cybersecurity agency says U.S. cyber and physical election infrastructure is more secure than ever.

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), says the agency has worked to ensure everyone’s vote will be counted accurately. At the same time, Easterly says election threats have never been more complex.

She says foreign adversaries are trying to influence the election by spreading disinformation online. Easterly says American voters should make sure they’re not sharing false information.

“That essentially does the work of our foreign adversaries for them. Because, as we know, our foreign adversaries are very specifically looking to undermine American confidence in our election processes and our democracy. They’re looking to pit Americans against each other.”

She says voters should look to their state and local election officials for accurate information about the election.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Early voters in Polk County braved an hour-plus long line to cast their ballots Monday.

The line coming out of the Polk County Auditor's Office had already stretched two full blocks by 9 a.m in Des Moines' downtown on the last day of early voting.

Most early voting sites are open through 5 p.m. Monday.

Voting in-person on Election Day will began at 7 a.m.

Iowa’s representatives in the U.S. House are back on the campaign trail, meaning money is flowing into the state from river to river. All four Republican incumbents each face a Democratic challenger, but only two races are considered competitive.

The amount of money raised in the competitive districts is nearly double the amount raised in the non-competitive races.

Three out of the four Republican congressional candidates outraised their Democratic opponents so far this election cycle. Historically, incumbents tend to raise more than challengers and newcomers, so the current trend is not unexpected. But in Iowa’s 1st District, which has been labeled a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan has outraised the Republican incumbent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Over in the 3rd District, which is also considered a “toss-up” race, Republican Rep. Zach Nunn is outraising his Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam, but the numbers are close.

In both races, spending by outside groups exceeds spending by the candidates’ own campaign committees, and most of the money has been used to attack the candidates.

Read more about where the candidates are getting their money.

A recent survey of registered voters in the Midwest shows a disconnect between issues voters support and the actions of those they elect.

Many voters support abortion rights and the legalization of marijuana, but the conservative candidates they elect often strongly oppose these measures.

Some of the poll contradictions are due to party loyalty, according to Lina-Maria Murillo, an assistant professor at the University of Iowa. Murillo says people do not want to be put in the position of voting for what they view as the opposing team.

“State by state, we see this incredible polarization, where politicians and the things that they say actually do not represent their constituency at all.”

The Midwest Newsroom asked political experts in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska for their insights about why such divides persist. Their explanations fell into five main themes. Find out more.

A federal judge ruled Sunday that the Iowa Secretary of State can carry out his plan to challenge the citizenship of more than 2,000 voters at the polls.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher denied the ACLU’s request to block the plan. He says about 12% of the people on the list apparently aren’t U.S. citizens, and it would be wrong for him to order election officials to let noncitizens vote.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says the decision is a win for election integrity. He says he is still asking the federal government to give him a list of about 250 verified noncitizens who are registered to vote.

The ACLU of Iowa sued the state last week on behalf of four naturalized U.S. citizens who are on the list of more than 2,000 voters. Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen says she’s disappointed by the court’s decision. But she says the lawsuit put pressure on Pate to let their clients and others to prove their citizenship before voting cast regular ballots.

Naturalized U.S. citizens sued Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate in federal court on Oct. 30 to try to stop his plan to challenge voters at the polls if they appear on a flawed list of potential noncitizens.

Last week, Pate flagged more than 2,000 people as potential noncitizens based on driver’s license data. More than 100 were referred to law enforcement, but Pate acknowledged most people on the list probably became U.S. citizens before voting.

Rita Bettis Austen, the legal director for the ACLU of Iowa, which filed the lawsuit, said Pate’s admission that the list is flawed. She said it makes his directive even more disturbing.

“It is shocking that the state’s highest official charged with protecting the voting rights of Iowa citizens is spearheading an effort to disenfranchise Iowa U.S. citizens.”

Pate has said he has an obligation to stop any noncitizens from voting. He says he didn’t remove any of the suspected noncitizens from the voter rolls, and that their vote will be counted if they prove their citizenship.

Pate says he has asked a federal agency to give him an accurate list of noncitizen voters, but the federal government has declined.

Vice President Kamala Harris is polling ahead of former President Donald Trump in Iowa, according to the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

The survey of likely voters gathered at the end of October puts Harris ahead of Trump by three points — 47% to 44%, which is within the margin of error.

The latest poll is a reversal from September when the Iowa Poll showed Trump leading the state by four points.

The poll finds that older women and independent women voters are breaking sharply for Harris.

In a statement, Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kauffman called the Iowa Poll an outlier, pointing to an Emerson College poll that puts Trump ahead by ten points.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said in a statement that there is a difference between an election and a poll, and called on Iowans to show up to vote.

Trump won Iowa in 2020 by eight points and in 2016 by nine points. Before that, the state chose Barack Obama for president in 2012 and 2008. In each of those four races, the final Iowa Poll before Election Day predicted the winner.

Candidates who want to represent southwest Iowa in the state Legislature participated in a forum Thursday night in Council Bluffs.

Shelia Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Brent Siegrist represents House District 19 in the Iowa Legislature, and at one time served as the Speaker of the House after first being elected in 1984. The former teacher left state politics more than 20 years ago and returned in 2020.

He was the only Republican who attended a forum held by the Loess Hills Branch of the American Association of University Women.

“Frankly, I'd like to have a little less majority, because I think when you're closer together in numbers, you get some better legislation. But having said that, there's some reasons why some issues come to the forefront, or they don't come to the forefront, and [that] has to do with elections and the message you're delivering.”

Siegrist says he still would like to see his Republican colleagues in the Statehouse win reelection. His Democratic challenger, Roger Peterson, did not attend the forum.

The subject of reproductive rights also provided lively debate during the forum.

Democrat Benjamin Schaur, a city councilman and teacher from Dunlap, is running for House District 15 against Matt Windschitl, the Republican Majority Leader from Missouri Valley.

Schauer says Iowa’s abortion law doesn’t address the underlying issue of unwanted pregnancies.

“We have to have a robust sexual education system that starts in our public school systems. Spoiler alert, our kids are having sex, if you don't know, they are.”

Siegrist said even though he is anti-abortion rights, he would be willing to support a less restrictive ban of 15 weeks. Iowa’s current law bans most abortions at six weeks after the detection of cardiac activity.

Coming up on Election Day, voters will have their say on who serves in the Iowa Legislature. Iowans in Senate District 38 in northeast Iowa have a chance to flip their district to Republicans or keep it Democratic.

Incumbent Democrat Eric Giddens, a former schoolteacher, is seeking his second full-term in the Statehouse. He is challenged by Republican and former Cedar Falls City Council member, Dave Sires.

Sires has made education a primary issue of his campaign. He says he supports state-funded Education Savings Accounts that families can spend on private school tuition. He argues parental choice and incoming money is good for Iowa’s education system.

Giddens says he’s against the ESA program, arguing that state money should be used to fund public schools first.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Voters in Iowa House District 40 have the choice to elect Republican Rep. Bill Gustoff or his Democratic challenger Heather Sievers. The district covers Altoona, parts of Ankeny and Des Moines and some unincorporated areas of Polk County.

Sievers is a first-time Statehouse candidate who works in health care leadership. She says her top priority is investing in public education and special education services.

She says lawmakers should limit spending on Education Savings Accounts for private school tuition.

“There’s no cap on vouchers. So, whoever asks for it — even the richest family in the state with kids already in private school — they will get that money. There’s only so much money for education in the government pot. So the more that we spend, the less that’s left over in that pot at the end of the year to keep our public schools funded.”

Republicans have argued they are investing in public and private education. Rep. Gustoff is running for a second two-year term in the Iowa House. He told IPR News he did not have time for an interview in the final weeks of the campaign.

Read more about where Sievers stands on some key issues facing Iowans this election.

Voters in Story and Johnson counties will decide this November whether to approve bonds to help fund conservation and recreation projects.

If passed by voters, the bond in Story County would generate $25 million over two decades. The money would be used for things like adding more ADA-compliant paths at Hickory Grove Park and completing the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail. It would also help pay to restore wetlands and reduce erosion along the Skunk River.

Nancy Franz is on the Story County Conservation Board. She passed out brochures about the bond to parents during a recent trick-or-treat event at Hickory Grove Park.

Franz says the county park is a destination in central Iowa, but water quality is a big challenge.

“The geese love our swimming beach because they can sit there and look 360 degrees and not be attacked by a predator. And when they do that, they leave their feces, and the E. coli closes the beach when it gets to a certain level.”

The bond would help fund the construction of grassy terraces to deter geese.

“For me, it’s about everybody having access to the out-of-doors and outdoor experiences. Everyone has a right to that, and this bond will help that be possible for more people. So it has to do with recreation and education and preservation related to natural resources in Story County.”

Property taxes for a median household in Story County would increase by less than $3 per month. This is Story County's first attempt at passing a conservation measure.

Johnson County passed one in 2008 and has a new, $30 million conservation bond on the ballot this November.

Both measures require at least 60% of the public vote to pass.

Iowa Democrats are hoping to reclaim seats in the Legislature this fall. In House District 43, which includes Johnston and parts of Urbandale and Saylorville, Democrat Tiara Mays-Sims is challenging two-term incumbent Republican Eddie Andrews.

Mays-Sims says strengthening public education is her top priority. That includes eliminating taxpayer-funded education savings accounts for families sending their kids to private school.

“We’ve got to get rid of that. It's taking too much money out of our public schools. One of the great things about being an American is that our kids are guaranteed a free, quality education.”

She says her other main goals if she’s elected are to roll back the law that bans abortion at around six weeks of pregnancy and to protect fertility treatments.

Andrews says he’s worked to expand mental health care in Iowa over the last four years in the Legislature and continuing that work is his top priority.

“My biggest passion has been, and will always be, providing better access to mental health care services, and health care services in general, but specifically for mental health, increasing the number of doctors here, which we’ve worked to do.”

Andrews says this includes supporting student loan repayment incentives for mental health professionals who stay in Iowa for five years.

Read more from Rachel Cramer.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May is the only Iowa Supreme Court justice up for retention in the 2024 election.

In a retention vote, there is no other candidate. Voters simply indicate on the back of their ballot whether or not they want the justice to be retained — or kept in office. Usually, these retention votes pass with little fanfare. This year is, perhaps, a bit different.

This summer, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy can go into effect. May was one of the justices who voted for this decision. A group called Iowans for Reproductive Freedom began encouraging voters not to retain May.

But there are heated debates about what should inform a voter’s choice on retention, as well as the purpose of a judicial retention election.

Scott Peters, a professor and the head of the University of Northern Iowa’s political science department, said he doesn’t believe the common perception that the way the judiciary handles disputes of the laws can be separate from politics.

“Courts are empowered by the state to give authoritative renderings about what laws mean, and their decisions are backed by the power of the state,” he said. “Everything courts do is political.”

And if politics is already involved in the process, Peters said, then the retention decision is where voters get to weigh in.

Guy Cook, the former president of the Iowa State Bar Association and a double board-certified trial lawyer, disagreed with Peters' analysis. He argues that justices should not be punished by voters for one decision they make, and that to do so would undermine judicial independence.“

The retention election is not a referendum on a particular decision,” Cook said. “We don't have that process in Iowa. It's a question of whether the judge is doing his job. Is he following the code of conduct? Has he engaged in misconduct or not?”

He said voters should look at the Iowa State Bar Association’s review of judges to inform their vote.

Read more from Natalie Dunlap.

Iowa election officials have been working to test all the vote counting machines that will be used in this fall’s election. It’s a routine process that helps ensure Iowans’ votes are counted accurately.

When Iowans go to vote in person, they will take their completed paper ballot and place it in their polling place’s vote counting machine. The testing underway now helps make sure that if there are any problems with the ballot — like marking too many candidates — the machine will flag them.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he wants Iowans to feel confident that the election results are correct.

“The pretesting we’re doing today is to let them know that the technology is working. And it’s public testing, so everyone can watch and monitor it. We have paper ballots — let’s not forget that that’s a way for us to be able to go back and do a complete review if we need to.”

Pate says each county also conducts post-election audits to check again that the vote counting machines worked properly.

Democratic Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott and Republican challenger Mark Hanson are running to represent Senate District 14 in the Iowa Legislature. The district covers Waukee, Adel and parts of West Des Moines and Clive.

Trone Garriott is running for another four years in office. She says the Legislature should support and fund public schools, repeal Iowa’s law banning abortions around six weeks of pregnancy and ensure IVF and contraception are protected. Trone Garriott also says there should be a limit to how much the state spends on education savings accounts for private school tuition.

“It’s just money going out the door with no oversight for the public’s interest. And so there need to be restrictions, of course. I don’t think it’s a good use of our taxpayer dollars. We need to fund the public resources that are available for everyone.”

Hanson says he has some questions about the cost and transparency of the ESA program and about its impact to public schools. He says income restrictions to qualify for an ESA should be considered.

Hanson has been on the Dallas County Board of Supervisors for the past 20 years. He says one of his top priorities if elected to the state Senate is reducing property taxes—he’s helped set those rates as a local government official. As for income taxes, Hanson says he’s not so sure about GOP proposals to eliminate them.

“I think we should look at reforms in county and city property taxes before moving further on income taxes. Tax reduction can help to bring more people to Iowa.”

Trone Garriott says income taxes are some of the fairest—and eliminating them could lead to higher property and sales taxes.

Read more from Katarina Sostaric.

The November election will decide the makeup of the Iowa Legislature going into the next session.

Voters in Senate District 20, which includes parts of Altoona, Pleasant Hill and Des Moines, will choose between Democratic incumbent Sen. Nate Boulton and his Republican challenger, Mike Pike, in this year’s race.

Boulton calls Iowa’s current laws around abortion, which can restrict the procedure as early as six weeks, a “very serious concern.” He says he supports codifying Roe v. Wade, which he believes could help prevent future restrictions on fertility treatments.

“That is the best way to make sure we don't have even unintended consequences of threatening access to IVF and other very meaningful things that can be done to help families looking to expand and grow.”

Pike did not respond to IPR requests to interview. According to Iowa Starting Line, Pike supports banning abortion without exceptions and said he doesn’t think Iowa’s current law goes far enough. Iowa Starting Line also reported that Pike is in support of Iowa’s ESA program, saying he thinks it will “strengthen all of schooling.”

Boulton voted against the Students First Act that allows students to apply for money from the state to attend accredited nonpublic schools.

He says he thinks the law was a “mistake” but says the state needs to make sure private schools don’t rapidly raise tuition rates. He says the schools that receive these public dollars need to offer services equivalent to those required for public schools, like special education.

“That should be the same standard when we look into private school education, if this line is going to be crossed, it has to be done fairly.”

Current Rep. Art Staed is running for a seat in a neighboring Iowa Senate district, leaving the House District 80 seat open to two new candidates. Voters will choose between Republican and first-time politician John Thompson or veteran Democrat Aime Wichtendahl.

Wichtendahl currently serves on the Hiawatha City Council. If elected, she would be the first transgender representative in the Legislature.

Wichtendahl is fighting against Gov. Kim Reynolds’ goal to eliminate the state income tax, saying it would cause Iowans far more harm than good.

“We already have the worst bridges and roads in the country, so those are going to get further neglected. We’re not doing enough to address water quality, so the water’s going to get worse. The investments that the government makes in the citizens of Iowa is going to be greatly diminished beyond what it already is.”

Her opponent Thompson argues for the elimination of the tax. He believes that revenue could be made up in other ways.

Thompson says he opposes abortion rights, but believes it’s best to leave the issue to a direct constitutional vote by the people of Iowa.

“What I would like to do is add a constitutional amendment. To me, large things that are controversial should be decided by the people as the constitution states.”

Wichtendahl is an abortion rights supporter and believes abortion access should be codified for Iowans in the constitution.

Western Iowa is a Republican stronghold. In the state Legislature, Josh Turek is the only Democrat representing southwest Iowa.

Turek, who won by only six votes in 2022, says the Legislature needs to focus on issues that apply to the middle class and the most vulnerable instead of culture war issues.

“You have to have a place where people say, 'Because of the health care, because of the public schools, because of the business environment — this is where I want to live and grow and make my family.'”

Turek, a former Paralympian, says the biggest problem for his hometown of Council Bluffs is affordable housing, where rent vacancies are under 1%.

He faces a challenge from Republican James Wassell, a political newcomer and 26-year-old Marine veteran.

Wassell says he is running for office to give young people a voice in society.

“We need to start getting back to the point where, you know, young people can immediately get out of high school and start taking on life and not being afraid to fail, not being afraid to take risks and not having the government, you know, always willing to step in.”

Wassell says he would like the Legislature to focus on lowering energy costs, easing regulations for small businesses and diversifying education by providing career pathways for high schoolers to join the workforce after graduation.

Read more from Sheila Brummer.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 11 that three Libertarian candidates for U.S. Congress cannot be on the ballot in this fall’s election because the Libertarian Party of Iowa failed to follow state law for nominating candidates by convention.

The final decision came two weeks after 1^st Congressional District candidate Nicholas Gluba, 3^rd District candidate Marco Battaglia and 4^th District candidate Charles Aldrich were first kicked off the ballot.

Republican officials on the State Objection Panel removed the Libertarian candidates from the ballot because they held their county conventions the same day as their caucuses and did not report delegates to county auditors.

The candidates appealed, but the Polk County District Court and the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the panel’s decision.

The Iowa Supreme Court rejected the candidates’ argument that substantial compliance with the law was good enough. The Court wrote the candidates could have qualified for the ballot by collecting signatures, but they chose to go the alternate route of the convention process.

Read more about the decision here

Law enforcement, military and cybersecurity agencies say they’re working with Iowa election officials to ensure all eligible voters can cast their ballot and have it counted accurately.

Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Steve Bayens says it’s his department’s responsibility to monitor digital and physical election-related threats from foreign and domestic adversaries. He says DPS will alert Iowans to false information that seeks to keep people from voting.

“Historically, false information is centered around alleged changes to polling places, hours of operation or the existence of voter intimidation in an effort to spread fear and distress. Please also be mindful of scam artists claiming you can register a ballot or vote online or over the phone.”

Bayens says some callers may also try to trick people into believing they have already voted. He says Iowans should only rely on trusted sources of voting information like state and local election officials.

Democratic leaders in the Iowa House are laying out the top four issues they would address in the Legislature if they are able to chip away at the current Republican majority.

Their agenda includes putting more funding toward public schools, reversing the recently enacted abortion ban, lowering costs for things like housing and child care and legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

Recreational marijuana is already legal in Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois. Democratic Rep. Lindsay James of Dubuque says that makes it an issue Iowa lawmakers cannot ignore.

“The product is here — it’s here in our state — and the most important thing we can do with that reality is to say we want to regulate it so that we can have a safe product. And we want to regulate it so that we can keep it out of the hands of kids.”

Under Republican control, state funding for schools has gone up by 2-3% percent in recent years. Democratic leaders say they would invest more in education.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, says Democrats would start by redirecting money going into Iowa’s Education Savings Accounts. That’s the program giving state money to families sending their kids to private schools.

“I believe that the funding we’re giving to school vouchers, which is hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money going to unaccountable private schools, should go to public schools instead.”

Democrats would have to gain significant ground in the Iowa House to enact their agenda. Going into the November election, Republicans control 64 out of 100 seats in the chamber. The GOP has controlled the House since 2011.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says public pressure led him to flag more than 2,000 registered voters as potential noncitizens shortly before Election Day. He says he recently found out about a Department of Transportation list that he could use to check for noncitizens, and he referred about 150 of the names to law enforcement.

Gov. Kim Reynolds says she asked Pate “a while back” what the state was doing about noncitizen voting because she heard other states were looking into it.

“So I was just curious, you know, to make sure how that was playing out and what we were doing. But you know, here’s the problem — this is where the issue really stems back to, and this is where I think states are having some issues — the federal government is not giving us access to the SAVE file.”

Reynolds and Pate say that the federal system would help the state to get updated information on voters’ citizenship status.

The DOT list is partly outdated, and Pate says most of the 2,000 people who were flagged are probably citizens. Pate says those people will have to cast a provisional ballot if they don’t prove their citizenship before voting.

Abortion is a major topic in the 2024 election, and Democrats in Iowa are leaning hard on reproductive rights to win them seats.

This year stands out because it's the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion across the country, and an Iowa Supreme Court decision that lowered protections for abortion in the state constitution. Both decisions came out in June 2022.

These rulings paved the way for an Iowa Supreme Court decision this summer allowing the state's "fetal heartbeat" law to go into effect in July.

Recent polling shows a majority of Iowans disapprove of the new law.

Chris Larimer, a professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa, said abortion has long been a strong issue for Democrats with the electorate.

"This is an issue that is a consistently winning issue for Democratic candidates, in terms of polling. And so, I think... they're going to continue to talk about it."

Read the full story.

Graphic by Madeleine King

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IPR News

Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the Iowa Senate. Next week’s election results will show whether the GOP keeps its advantage or Democrats regain some seats.

In Senate District 22, which largely covers the Des Moines suburbs of Urbandale and Johnston, Republican Sen. Brad Zaun is up for reelection. His challenger is Democrat Matt Blake, a former Urbandale City Council member.

Blake says his priority, if elected, would be to improve Iowa’s quality of life. To him that means supporting public school funding and growing job opportunities.

Zaun says his top goal for the Legislature is to reduce the cost of property taxes, especially for Iowans over 65 years old.

Here’s what else the candidates said about key issues facing Iowans in this election.

Graphic by Madeleine King

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Iowa Public Radio

As the country approaches Election Day, Republicans are looking to defend their current majority in the Iowa House, while Democrats hope to protect the seats they hold and regain others.

In House District 42, which covers parts of the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny, Democratic incumbent Rep. Heather Matson faces Republican challenger Heather Stephenson.

Matson says if she is reelected, her priority is to improve Iowans’ economic security by supporting public education and improving access to health care.

“Doing more to support Iowans and making sure that they can get the care that they deserve, no matter where they live in this state. And, of course, part of health care is reproductive freedom.”

Matson voted against and continues to oppose Iowa’s recently enacted law which effectively bans abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions.

Stephenson did not agree to an interview with IPR News before Election Day, but told The Des Moines Register her top issue would be to reduce property taxes.

Here’s what else Matson said about key issues facing Iowans in this election.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. That means your time to make decisions on who to vote for – and how to vote – is shortening. As you prepare to vote, take the following steps to ensure your vote counts.

Can I vote this election?

• You are eligible to vote this election if you are:
  
  • An Iowa resident
  • A U.S. citizen
  • At least 18 years old on Election Day, Nov. 5
• You are not eligible to vote this election if you:
  
  • Are not an Iowa resident
  • Are not a U.S. citizen
  • Are under 18 years old on Election Day
  • Have been judged mentally incompetent to vote by a court
  • Claim the right to vote elsewhere
  • Have a felony conviction
    
    • Many Iowans with felony convictions who have completed their sentences are now eligible to vote. Find information about voting with a felony conviction here.

Registering to vote

• The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election online or through the mail has passed, but you can still vote on Election Day by registering in person at your polling place. You’ll need to prove both who you are and where you live. Different forms of ID will accomplish this. Detailed information on accepted proof of ID is available on the Secretary of State’s website.
• Make sure to check your registration status before arriving at your polling site.

Voting early in person

• Every county will have its county auditor's office or county elections office open for in-person early voting through Nov. 4.

Voting by absentee ballot

• Your ballot must be received by your county auditor by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5, in order to be counted. This is a major difference from the deadline for the 2020 election.
• If you requested an absentee ballot that you have not mailed back, it is too late to return your ballot through the mail. You can also surrender your absentee ballot at your polling place and vote a regular ballot on Election Day.
• You can track your absentee ballot at voterready.iowa.gov to see if it was received by your county auditor.

Voting in-person on Election Day

• Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Click here to find your polling place
• Iowa has a voter ID law. Be sure to bring one of these forms of identification to vote:
  
  • Iowa Driver’s License
  • Iowa Non-Operator ID
  • Iowa Voter Identification Card (request one from your county auditor if you need it)
  • Military ID or Veteran ID
  • U.S. Passport
  • Tribal ID Card/Document
• The Iowa Secretary of State's office has also compiled voting resources here.

You can find more information on how to vote through your county auditor’s website or social media, or by calling their office. Find your county auditor here.