Early voting begins for Iowa’s 2026 primaries: Here’s what to know

By Robin Opsahl
Iowa Capital Dispatch

Early voting kicks off Wednesday, May 13 for the 2026 primary elections in Iowa.

Iowans will have the chance to weigh in on contests determining either the Republican and Democratic nominees in several federal and state races. Voters can participate on Election Day, June 2, or begin voting early at in-person locations or by mail beginning Wednesday.

County auditors are able to begin sending out requested absentee ballots Wednesday. To participate in the election by mail, voters must submit an absentee ballot request, which can be downloaded from the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, to their local county auditor’s office. When requesting a ballot, Iowa voters must provide proof of identification through the ID number on their driver’s license or non-operator’s ID, or by using the four-digit PIN found on their voter identification card.

The request window began March 24, and ends Monday, May 18 — requests for absentee ballots must be received by the county auditor by 5 p.m. in order to have the ballot sent by mail.

Completed mail-in ballots must be received by the county auditor’s office by the time polls close on Election Day – by 8 p.m., June 2 – to be counted.

Wednesday also marks the first day Iowa county auditors can begin hosting in-person early voting at either local county auditor’s office and designated satellite polling locations. Locations, information and hours can be found on the websites of voters’ local county auditor’s offices. Find your local county auditor here.

Voters must be registered to participate in early voting. Iowans can register to vote online through the Secretary of State’s website with their Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID information, or can register by filling out and returning a registration form to their county auditor’s office. Eligible voters must be U.S. citizens, Iowa residents and 18 years old by Election Day to register.

Iowa offers same-day registration for both early voting and on Election Day. To register to vote in person, Iowans must bring an accepted form of identification as well as proof of residence through documents like a residential lease or utility bill to their polling location. People who do not have these required documents can still vote if a registered voter from their precinct attests for them, with both parties signing an oath that the statements made were true. When participating in both early and Election Day voting, Iowans already registered to vote are also required to bring valid identification, like a driver’s license, U.S. passport, or signed Iowa Voter Identification Card.

Because the June 2 election is a primary, Iowans must register with a political party in order to participate in the elections for candidates to become the party nominee. This does not mean independents can’t participate in the election: voters in Iowa — with the exception of precinct election officials — have the ability to change parties on Election Day. This also means a person registered as a Republican or Democrat has the ability to switch their party affiliation when going to vote if they wish to vote for a nominee running in another party’s primary.

However, people cannot vote in primaries of multiple parties. This means Iowans must decide if they wish to vote for nominees of Democrats or Republicans — an Iowa voter cannot cast their ballot in both the U.S. Senate Democratic primary and the Republican gubernatorial primary.

There are primaries in many of the federal, statewide, and state legislative races in 2026, but there are still several candidates running unopposed for their party nomination. See a list of all the candidates registered for the primary here.

This story was originally published May 13 on the Iowa Capital Dispatch website. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.