On Monday, Nov. 2, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced that a record number of Iowans have registered to vote. As of Monday morning, there were 2,095,581 active registered voters. In July …
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On Monday, Nov. 2, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced that a record number of Iowans have registered to vote. As of Monday morning, there were 2,095,581 active registered voters. In July 2019 the population of Iowa was recorded at 3,155,070. Over 90% of Iowa’s eligible population is currently registered to vote.
699,001 Iowans are registered as democrats; 719,591 as republicans; 659,488 without a party and 17,501 as members of other parties.
The previous voter registration record was set in the months following the 2016 general election.
Voters are able to register same-day at the polls, so Iowa’s total registered voters will likely increase after Election Day, as well.
“Iowa is one of the top 10 states in the nation for voter registration and participation,” Secretary Pate said in a press release. “I’m glad to see so many people engaged in the process heading into Tuesday’s general election.”
Secretary Pate’s office also released absentee voting data — as of Monday morning, 995,971 of the state’s 1,036,409 requested absentee ballots had been received by county auditors.
62,208 voters requested absentee ballots in Johnson County; 63% of these voters are registered democrats, 14% republicans and 21% registered to no party.
60,751 of requested ballots in Johnson County were returned, or over 97%. Most absentee voters mailed their ballots back or dropped them in the county’s drop boxes. 18,001 people voted absentee in-person in the parking ramp by the Johnson County Administration Building and 7,457 people voted at satellite locations.
At the Lone Tree school board meeting on Oct. 14, which Secretary Pate attended to present the Carrie Chapman Catt Award to the school, Secretary Pate said he expects Iowa to have results on election night — he said his goal was to go to bed by midnight.
The country might not know who the next president is by that time, however.
“The states who do all vote-by-mail, that’s a really slippery path and there are a lot of potential challenges, so lawyers might be arguing this one a little longer,” Pate said. “There won’t be a Florida hanging chad year, it’s really more about the lawyers, how much they want to play in the game.”
