Seventy percent of Iowans who voted early this year did so in-person, either at a satellite voting location or in their county auditor’s office
Seventy percent of Iowans who voted early this year did so in-person, either at a satellite voting location or in their county auditor’s office. Secretary of State Paul Pate says some voters waited in long lines to vote early, and they are considering options to ease that congestion in 2028. Pate cites Polk County as an example, which has 170 voting precincts. “When you’re doing early voting at the record numbers you saw and you’re taking 170 locations and you’re really making it into one, you’re going to have a line, so it just means we have to adapt,” Pate said. “It will be something that auditors will have to look at.” More than 70,000 people voted early in Polk County, which includes Des Moines, and nearly 40,000 voted in Linn County, where Cedar Rapids and Marion are located. In total, nearly a half million Iowans cast absentee ballots in the 20-day early voting period before Election Day. About 45 percent of those were registered as Democrats, 34 percent were Republicans and 20 percent were independents.
