Voting at Iowa: Everything you need to know

During every election season, young people hold a huge responsibility in shaping the United States government for a changing world. Many students at Iowa have their first opportunity to vote this year, and the process is an easy way to have the voices and opinions of our generation heard and reflected in the way our country is run.

The presidential race is as important as it is divisive this year, but while this vote is clearly a very important one, there are so many other issues and positions being voted on that also call for our consideration. In the 2012 election, only 19% of Millennials voted- and four years before that, in 2008, 1.7 million young voters (age 18-24) were not even registered to vote.

Sophomore Sara Bultsma provided some more information about how easy it is for students to vote, and elaborated upon how important this race can be, even while it has been discouraging to many young voters.

“I know its so hard to pick a candidate this year, which is understandable, but voting involves a lot more than choosing our president. You can vote for congress, local reps, and city council. The governor race is especially important this year. If you’re undecided about a candidate; look at their policies on education funding, higher education, or employment. That affects your tuition, your school, and job availability upon graduation!”

The ability to actively participate in government is an earned right, and here are some simple instructions on how to take advantage of it.

Out of State Students:

For many states, the deadline has already passed to receive an absentee ballot – but there are still a few options for you to make your vote count!

You can still register online in most states!

Google has a great tool where if you search “how to register to vote in ___” it will give you information on how to register (if the deadline hasn’t passed), what is required, and even more information on where to go and what is on the ballot. As a quick shortcut, here are links to Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri.

If you register to vote out of state this close to the election, you will most likely have to vote in the state that you are registered for, but if you can’t do that, it doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t vote! Iowa is consistently an important state for the presidential election as a swing state, and even as temporary residents we are all affected by the Iowa government.

Here is some more information about voting in Iowa:

To register to vote in Iowa you can go online to https://uiowa.turbovote.org/ or fill out a paper registration form available to print at http://www.johnson-county.com/dept_auditor.aspx?id=14446. The paper form must be mailed or delivered before election day (November 8) to

Johnson County Auditor
913 S Dubuque St Suite 101
Iowa City, IA 52240

To find out where you are supposed to vote, simply go to https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/pollingplace/search.aspx and enter your address. That information will include addresses for the Primary & General elections, School elections, and City elections. Primary and General elections are the ones concerning the president and state representatives. To know who is running for what in Iowa, here is a useful link: http://www.politics1.com/ia.htm

If all else fails, though, you can always opt for same day registration.

If you show up to your allocated voting center with a valid ID and proof of your address (mail sent to you at that address for example) you can register to vote on the spot. Voting will take place November 8, from 7am to 9pm, but there is also the option to attend early voting in the IMU lower level from October 24-28th, 9am to 3pm.

There’s never been a more exciting time to get involved and start paying attention to the decisions that will shape our country, just like there’s no sexier accessory than that “I Voted” sticker. Get out there and get involved, Hawkeyes! USA! USA!