Every weekday through November 4, Bleeding Heartland is posting early voting numbers for all of Iowa and in each of the four Congressional districts. All data come from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The latest tables are after the jump. Click here for previous tables going back to September 22.
Absentee ballot requests from Iowa Republicans and no-party voters now exceed the total early vote from those groups in Iowa’s 2010 midterm election. Ballot requests from Iowa Democrats are only about 4,000 below the total early vote cast by Democrats in 2010.
Three big unanswered questions remain: which party is generating more absentee ballot requests from “unreliable” voters who otherwise would not participate in the midterm? Which party has mobilized more of the independents who are voting early? And which party will do better in making sure its supporters not only request an absentee ballot, but also return it to the county auditor on time?
All 99 county auditors’ offices are open for in-person early voting during regular business hours through Monday, November 3. Larger-population counties also have satellite voting locations, often in public libraries or community centers. Click here (pdf) for the full list of Polk County satellite voting locations, with dates and hours. The last day for in-person early voting at satellite locations in Polk County is this Friday, October 24.
Absentee ballots requested by Iowa voters as of October 19, 2014
| Congressional district | Democrats | Republicans | no-party voters | Libertarian | Iowa Green | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA-01 | 40,242 | 32,087 | 21,191 | 104 | 46 | 93,670 |
| IA-02 | 42,366 | 31,479 | 20,182 | 100 | 65 | 94,192 |
| IA-03 | 39,580 | 36,982 | 16,676 | 102 | 49 | 93,389 |
| IA-04 | 28,678 | 39,186 | 15,614 | 68 | 31 | 83,577 |
| statewide | 150,866 | 139,734 | 73,663 | 374 | 191 | 364,828 |
Absentee ballots received by Iowa county auditors as of October 19, 2014
| Congressional district | Democrats | Republicans | no-party voters | Libertarian | Iowa Green | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA-01 | 23,019 | 18,874 | 9,891 | 45 | 17 | 51,846 |
| IA-02 | 23,846 | 18,954 | 9,124 | 42 | 33 | 51,999 |
| IA-03 | 21,391 | 20,430 | 7,118 | 41 | 18 | 48,998 |
| IA-04 | 16,608 | 22,788 | 7,417 | 32 | 15 | 46,860 |
| statewide | 84,864 | 81,046 | 33,550 | 160 | 83 | 199,703 |