Johnson County voting guide 2022: What's on the ballot, how to register and how to vote early

The 2022 midterm elections in Johnson County on Nov. 8 will help determine the makeup of Congress, the Iowa Legislature and the Board of Supervisors in addition to the passage or failure of a constitutional amendment on guns.

Johnson County voters will join those in 19 other counties to help determine the winner of the 1st Congressional District. They will vote in statewide races for U.S. Senate, governor and other offices, including whether to retain several judges. The back of the ballot will include a question on whether to enshrine 2nd Amendment strict scrutiny protections for firearms into the Iowa Constitution, plus races for Soil & Water Conservation District commissioners and County Agricultural Extension council members.

Johnson, Washington and Iowa counties will send a new slate of legislators to Des Moines in a year of historic turnover, with seven contested races, five of which are without an incumbent. Two seats on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors are also up for grabs with five candidates running, including one incumbent.

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Here is a guide to this year's midterm general election, explaining how to register to vote; where to find your voting precinct; how to vote early or by mail; and what voters can expect to see on their ballot on or before Nov. 8.

How do I register to vote in Iowa?

Oct. 24 is the last day to register to vote before Primary Election Day on Nov. 8. Missing this deadline does not bar you from voting, but you will have to clear additional hurdles at the ballot box to prove identification and residency to register Nov. 8.

To qualify to register to vote in Iowa, you must be a U.S. citizen, an Iowa resident, and at least 17 years old. A person may vote if they will be 18 years old on or before Election Day, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's website.

A person is not qualified to vote in Iowa if they are a convicted felon, unless their voting rights have been restored. A person could also not be qualified if they are judged mentally incompetent to vote by a court; or if they claim the right to vote in any other location.

There are multiple options for people who want to register to vote in Iowa, including online. The Iowa Secretary of State's website allows you to fill out an online voter registration application or download a voter registration form to print out and return to the county auditor's office.

To register, a potential voter needs to fill out the following information on the registration form:

• Full name, sex and date of birth.

• Address where you live and address where you receive mail if it is different.

• An ID number from an Iowa driver’s license, a nonoperator ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

• Previous voter registration information.

• Political affiliation (No Party, Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian).

• A signature and the date of the signature.

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If someone is not registered to vote on Election Day, they can still cast a ballot and register to vote that day. To do so, they first must go to the correct polling place for their current address on Election Day. At the polling place, they must prove both identification and place of residence with a valid Iowa driver’s license with current address printed on it, or other documents.

There were 90,171 active registered voters in Johnson County as of May 2.

How do I vote early in-person or absentee by mail in Iowa?

Voters in Johnson County are able to start voting early in-person, or by mail on Wednesday, Oct. 19. To vote early in-person, a voter can go to the Johnson County auditor's office, or to a satellite voting location.

In-person early voting is available in the auditor's office. Drive-up early voting will be available at the parking ramp north of the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building, 855 S. Dubuque St., at the entrance off of Clinton Street.

You can track the status of your absentee ballot on the secretary of state's website at sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus.

To request an absentee ballot that can either be mailed or returned in-person, a voter must fill out an absentee ballot request form, which is available on the auditor's website. The form requires much of the same identification information needed to apply for registration, but also requires the voter to specify the name or date of the election for which they are requesting an absentee ballot.

The absentee ballot request must be submitted by Oct. 24. The actual ballot will be mailed soon after. The ballot must be returned to the auditor's office either by mail or in-person by the time polls close on Election Day at 8 p.m.

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Where do I vote on Election Day and what do I need to bring with me?

Voters are each assigned a voting precinct when they register that is often at a local community gathering space like a church or fire station. You can find out what precinct you are assigned to by looking up your voter registration online at the Iowa Secretary of State's website or the Johnson County Auditor's website.

Voting precincts have changed since the last general election due to the re-precincting process after the 2020 U.S. Census.

To show up in person to vote, you'll need to bring proof of identification, such as an Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID, U.S. passport, U.S. military ID or veteran’s ID, tribal ID or document, or Iowa voter ID card.

Voters can wear campaign buttons and clothing, but they must leave the polling place as soon as they are done voting. Campaigning or electioneering in a polling place is illegal; loitering in a polling place while wearing political items is considered electioneering, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's website.

Where you are registered to vote also determines what races you can vote for depending on the city, school district, county, state and federal legislative district you live in.

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What races and issues are on the ballot? Which are contested?

Few races in Johnson County have only one candidate, but others have up to five to choose from.

You can look up a sample ballot by using a tool on the Johnson County Auditor's website, which will tell you your polling place and what races will be on your ballot.

Some of the contested local races include:

• The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for the 1st Congressional District.

• The Iowa governor, auditor of state, treasurer of state, secretary of state, state attorney general, and secretary of agriculture.

• Four seats in the Iowa House of Representatives and two in the Iowa Senate.

• Two seats where voters will pick two candidates on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.

• A yes or no ballot question asking whether Iowa should enshrine 2nd Amendment protections subject to strict scrutiny into the Iowa Constitution.

Read more about Johnson County's contested races in the 2022 midterm election

Other races for Iowa House District 90, 86, Senate District 43 and other Johnson County offices remain uncontested on the ballot.

Voters can write-in candidates for any races in Johnson County in the space provided on the ballot.

More information on voting in Iowa is also available at voterready.iowa.gov.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: How to vote in Johnson County, Iowa for 2022 midterm election