Iowa early voting is lower than in past midterm elections; impact on final turnout unclear

Iowans so far are casting fewer early votes this year than in 2018 and 2014, the last two times the state had a governor's race on the ballot.

Voting turnout shattered records in 2020, but a presidential election on the ballot and policies that encouraged Iowans to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic make it a much harder year to compare.

As of Thursday, five days before the Nov. 8 election, more than 272,000 Iowans had voted early, either by mail or in person, according to data from the Iowa Secretary of State's Office.

Five days before the 2018 election, nearly 421,000 people had voted early. And five days before the 2014 election, nearly 392,000 early votes had been cast.

This year's early voting numbers, as of Thursday, include 145,027 Democrats, 87,527 Republicans, 39,291 no-party voters and 624 others.

It's unclear what the lower early voting numbers will mean for Iowa's final election turnout. The state could still see a burst of last-minute early voters, or more Iowans could choose to cast their votes on Election Day this year.

But several auditors told the Des Moines Register that new voting restrictions enacted by the Republican-controlled state government have sowed some confusion. Others noted that political parties don't seem to be working as hard to promote absentee voting.

More:How to vote in Iowa's 2022 elections for governor, US Senate, state Legislature

This year is Iowa's first general election since the Republican-led state Legislature passed a raft of changes to the state's voting system in 2021 that shortened the early voting period from 29 days to 20 and moved up the cutoff to request a mail-in ballot.

In another change, absentee ballots have to be received by the county auditor by the time the polls close on Nov. 8 or they won't be counted. And the polls on Election Day this year will close an hour earlier, at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

State and local election officials are urging Iowans to cast their ballots and reassuring them the election will be secure.

"Here’s our message for Iowans: We’re dedicated to protecting the integrity of our elections and the sanctity of our vote," said Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican.

Shorter early voting period confusing some Iowa voters

Many voters don't realize Iowa's early voting deadlines have changed, Sioux County Auditor Ryan Dokter said.

"When you change those timelines, there’s less days in there to get things done, especially from the voters’ end," said Dokter, a Republican.

"We try to make them aware," he said. "But we're not reaching everyone."

Clayton County Auditor Jennifer Garms, who is president of the bipartisan Iowa State Association of County Auditors, said there are voters who would have liked to request an absentee ballot be mailed to them, but they missed the Oct. 24 cutoff date, which is earlier than in past years.

"With election law changing usually almost every year now, it seems it’s just hard to keep that straight for most voters," said Garms, a Democrat.

The 2021 law change also barred county auditors from sending absentee ballot request forms to voters unless the voter specifically requests one. In 2020, Pate's office sent blank ballot request forms to every active registered voter in the state, and some counties sent their own forms to voters as well.

"This year I think some voters expected to get that in the mail, and that was not something we could do this year," Garms said. "They would have to call and request that."

Garms encouraged voters who requested mail-in absentee ballots to take those back to their county auditor in person, rather than putting them in the mail, because the election is so close.

All absentee ballots must be received by county auditors by the time polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday in order to be counted. That's a change from previous years, when ballots would have counted as long as they were postmarked by the day before Election Day.

"If you have a ballot requested by mail, now is about the time where you may want to think about bringing it in to our office as opposed to sending it through the mail system because we are less than a week out," she said.

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat who's running for secretary of state this year, said the new deadlines are "problematic."

"Most people weren’t paying attention to early voting until we actually started early voting," he said. "And then very quickly the deadline to request an absentee ballot was five days later, and they got caught by that, surprised by that."

More:See where Iowa candidates stand on key issues in the 2022 midterm elections

Secretary of state says candidates, party strategies affect turnout

Pate is skeptical about the contention that election law changes are influencing voter turnout.

"Voter turnout is frankly driven by the candidates and the political parties," Pate said. "They are the ones who inspire people to go out and vote, the candidates themselves, their message, etc., and also the strategies they take and how they do their voter turnout themselves."

Pate said he hasn't seen the Democratic and Republican parties putting as much emphasis on voting absentee this year compared to past years.

"I don't know why they chose that strategy, but that's what they're doing," he said.

In Sioux County, Dokter said the local Republican Party didn't send absentee ballot request forms to voters, which could have been mailed back to the auditor's office to get a ballot.

"We’ve had probably dozens of calls from people asking where that request form is," Dokter said. "And by the time we’re getting those calls, it was too late to mail out the ballots, or basically too late for us to mail that form to them and get it back to us in time in order to mail out a ballot."

Erin Moynihan, communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party, said the party sent out absentee ballot request forms and mailers encouraging Iowans to vote by mail, early in person or on Election Day. They've done the same outreach in previous election cycles, she said.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn said in a statement, “My focus in these final days is to make sure Iowans cast their ballots, because we need to elect more leaders who will put people over politics."

Kollin Crompton, communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa, said Republicans are "fired up" for the election, but didn't say whether the party has changed its turnout strategy.

"Iowa Democrats are completely turned off by their weak and woke ticket and that's showing up on their lackluster early voting numbers," he said in a statement.

Iowans should feel confident casting ballots in midterm election, officials say

At a news conference Thursday with state and federal cybersecurity and law enforcement officials, Pate said Iowans should feel confident that Iowa's elections are secure from manipulation and that voters will be able to cast their ballots safely.

"Voters, we’ve got your back," Pate said. "You will be able to cast your vote safely and if anyone tries to impede that process in any way, our friends in law enforcement will deal with them. We have these guys on speed dial."

Iowa law makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to intimidate, threaten or coerce a voter, or to attempt to do so. It's also a crime to loiter, electioneer or soliciting votes within 300 feet of a polling place, or to interrupt voters on their way to a polling place or while they're casting their vote.

More:Who's on my ballot in the Iowa 2022 midterm election?

Pate said his office works to combat misinformation about the election by sharing the facts about Iowa's election system. The state votes on paper ballots and conducts pre- and postelection audits to ensure results are accurate. Vote tabulators are not connected to the internet, he said.

"There is zero evidence of any unauthorized intrusions into Iowa’s election system," Pate said.

Stephan Bayens, commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said his agency is working with other law enforcement officials to monitor and prevent any efforts to compromise the voting process.

"Voting is one of our most sacred civic responsibilities and the Department of Public Safety will do everything in its power to ensure that all Iowans can discharge that responsibility safely and with confidence," he said.

State officials said Iowans should rely on trusted sources of information for voting, such as the state's voterready.iowa.gov website, and be wary of scams that encourage them to believe they can vote over the phone or online.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa sees lower early voting numbers: impact on final turnout unclear