News Flash

Early, absentee voting begins Monday, May 7, 2018 for the Partisan Primary Elections.

About This Election
In Iowa, county commissioners of elections are responsible for administering Primary Elections for the Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican Parties. These elections are a nomination process whereby each party nominates individuals to be the party’s candidate on the General Election ballot.  Therefore, winners of a Primary Election race do not win election to office, but win a nomination to move on to the General Election.

Primary Elections in Iowa are “closed” Primaries. This means that there are three elections happening on the same day - one for Democrats, one for Libertarians and one for Republicans. A voter must declare a party before being issued a ballot. To “declare,” a voter simply needs to indicate, on an Absentee Ballot Request Form or at the polls, which party’s ballot they want. A voter cannot be issued a ballot from more than one party. A voter’s party affiliation is updated in state records if any changes are made.  

Voting In-Person:
Beginning Monday May 7, individuals may vote in-person at the Election Services Department of the Auditor’s Office. The office is located in the Linn County Public Service Center, 935 2nd St. SW in Cedar Rapids. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Voting by Mail:
Voters may also request to have an absentee ballot mailed to them. Absentee requests must be received by Friday, May 25. These voters may return their ballot by mail or hand-deliver their ballot to the Election Services Department. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before Monday, June 4 in order to be counted.

Election Portal:
Go to www.LinnCountyElections.org to gain access to all election-related information for Linn County.

For questions regarding this election, call the Linn County Election Services Office at (319) 892-5300, ext. 1 or email [email protected].

Dates & Deadlines