The number of elections in Iowa varies from year to year.

Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

are held every four years. Since 1972, Iowa has been the first state to vote in

presidential primaries Each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States. This process is designed t ...

, with their

caucuses A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

. As with presidential elections, gubernatorial elections are held every four years - but are staggered such that they are held on general elections independently of the presidential election. Members of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

are elected every four years, with half of the Senate elected at each general election; all members of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

are elected every two years. Additionally, elections for various government officials, judicial retention elections, and elections on referendums occur as part of various elections in Iowa. In a 2020 study, Iowa was ranked as the 24th easiest state for citizens to vote in.

Electoral system

Party system

The

Iowa Caucus The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...

is an electoral event in which residents meet in

precinct Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A shopping arcade or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public housing in Singapore * A former elector ...

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es in all of Iowa's 1,681 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions.

General elections

In Iowa, a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

is held on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

during even-numbered years. In addition to the elections for the chief executive and legislature of the United States and of Iowa, general elections in Iowa include statewide elections for the Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State,

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

, and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. Also included are judicial retention elections and proposed amendments to the Iowa Constitution, along with various local elections.

Local elections

In Iowa, various local officials are elected at the general election. However,

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

and city elections are not held during a general election, but at a different regularly scheduled time. Regular school elections are held on the second Tuesday in September during odd-numbered years. Regular city elections are held on Election Day during odd-numbered years.

Special elections

In Iowa,

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

s may be held throughout the year to fill various governmental vacancies or to vote on ballot initiatives. Special elections are generally held on Tuesdays and may not generally be held on the same day as a general or local election.Iowa Code § 39.2(1)

References

External links

Voting and Elections Information
at the Iowa Secretary of State official website * *
Iowa election laws
- a compilation of Iowa laws related to elections.
Iowa election laws changed pages
- an update with those pages changed since the last publication of the Iowa election laws, current as of October 2008. * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

) * . (Also
1997 & 19981999 & 20002001 & 20022003 & 2004

2005 & 20062007 & 20082009 & 20102011 & 20122013 & 20142015 & 20162017 & 2018
. *

Digital Public Library of America The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a US project aimed at providing public access to digital holdings in order to create a large-scale public digital library. It officially launched on April 18, 2013, after two-and-a-half years of dev ...

. Assorted materials related t
Iowa elections
* {{Current Iowa statewide political officials Government of Iowa Political events in Iowa