What you need to know ahead of Election Day
When voting in-person on Election Day, voters need to be prepared. The DI has put together a reminder of how to find your polling location, what to bring with you, and resources Iowa City has set up to help voters get to the polls.
Jakeline Morello (furthest left), Sara Cello (furthest right), and their friends pose for a portrait in front of the Iowa City Public Library polling location on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. They had all recently just voted, with Morello and Cello voting all Democrat.
November 1, 2020
Tuesday is Election Day, and nearly a million people across the state have already cast their ballots. There’s still time to vote in person on Nov. 3 — here’s what you need to know about voting in-person the day of.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. in every county, and you must bring a valid form of identification, such as an Iowa driver’s license, U.S. passport, or a U.S. Military ID card.
If you don’t have an Iowa driver’s license, you need to bring your valid voter ID card issued by the county auditor’s office, in addition to a valid form of identification.
Voters can find their precinct location through the Iowa Secretary of State’s website — sos.Iowa.gov. Click on the tab labeled “Elections” and then click on “Voters” in the drop-down menu. Then click “Find your precinct/polling place,” and type in the area code that matches your voter registration.
You can find polling locations in Johnson County at gis.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.
For those located on or near the University of Iowa campus, just a few Iowa City polling locations include Carver Hawkeye Arena, the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center (CRWC), the UI Visual Arts building, and Iowa City West High School.
Some precincts have announced location changes. The Clear Creek/Tiffin precinct location has changed to the Clear Creak Amana West Campus Building. Iowa City precinct’s 5 and 11 have moved to the CRWC, Iowa City precinct 15 has changed to the Kirkwood Community College Iowa City Campus, and precinct 22 has moved to Parkview Church.
Transportation
If transportation to the polls is a challenge on Tuesday, Iowa City Transit will offer free bus rides all day. The buses follow their normal routes, which stop by most polling locations.
Shuttles have been added to get voters to precinct locations that do not fall on the traditional bus route. These shuttles will take voters to precinct 10 at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area’s Park Lodge, and precinct 12 at Alexander Elementary School. Shuttle stops can be found on the Iowa City Transit section of the City of Iowa City website — icgov.org
Each route will be serviced every 30 minutes starting at 7 a.m. and signs will be posted at bus stops where shuttle services will be available.
Can I still mail in my ballot?
Monday is the last day for mail-in ballots to be postmarked, so if you miss that deadline you can surrender your mail-in ballot at your precinct location and still vote in-person on Election Day.
If you did not vote early, or mail a ballot, find your precinct and head to the polls on Election Day to cast your vote.
