Iowa Opens Absentee Ballot Requests Amid Federal Tracking Order

Iowa voters began requesting absentee ballots on August 25 for the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. Requests must be submitted to local county auditor offices by October 19, with ballots mailing starting October 14. To be counted, completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The request period opened shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency docket opinion ruling that 23 Democratic-led states lacked standing to block a March executive order from Donald Trump. That order requires the U.S. Postal Service to use tracking barcodes for ballots and directs the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to share voting-age citizen lists with state officials.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate expressed opposition to federal regulation of mail-in ballots, though his office expects the court ruling to have no direct impact on Iowa voters.