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Stay Safe and Vote by Mail this Year

Voting by mail in Iowa is technically known as “absentee voting.” Starting on July 6, 2020, the Dubuque County Auditor’s Elections Office can start accepting applications to vote by mail. The application is called an “absentee ballot request” or “ABR.” This email has information about voting by mail in the November 3, 2020 election. Please read it carefully.

How To Get an ABR

  1. Iowa’s Secretary of State and the Iowa Democratic Party will be sending out ABRs. If you are a registered voter, you can wait for that to arrive in the mail, fill it out completely and send it back.
  2. If you want to send the form before you get it in the mail, you can download the form at: https://bit.ly/ABRSDBQ. After you have filled out the form completely, mail it to “Dubuque County Elections, P.O. Box 5001, Dubuque, IA 52004-5001.” If you prefer, you can take it to the auditor’s office at the Dubuque County Courthouse, 720 Central Ave., Dubuque, IA. There is a drop box at the front entrance of the courthouse off of Central, or a drop box behind the courthouse.
  3. Regardless of which method you use, please only send ONE REQUEST. For example, if you download the form and mail it, do not send in the form that you get in the mail later.

Information About the ABR

  • If you have not filled it out completely, the Elections Office will have to call you and get missing information. Please help them out by filling it out completely.
  • The 4 digit PIN is only given to those who don’t have an Iowa Driver’s Licenses or Iowa Non-Operator ID, so most people don’t have a PIN. Use your Iowa Driver’s License or Iowa Non-Operator ID number if you have one.
  • Ballots themselves cannot be mailed out to you until October 5, 2020. If you do not receive a ballot right after you mail it in, do not panic. You can track your absentee ballot from the Iowa Secretary of State’s website: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus/absentee/search
  • You can return your voted absentee ballot by mail. Absentee ballots received in the Elections Office by the time the polls close on Election Day are eligible for counting. Absentee ballots received after the polls close on Election Day must be postmarked by the Monday before Election Day or earlier and received in the Elections office no later than noon on the Monday following the election.

Dates You Need to Know to Vote By Mail in Iowa

  • Monday July 6, 2020 – First day Elections Office can received ABRs.
  • Monday October 5, 2020 – Voting by mail starts. You can also start turning in absentee ballots in person on this date.
  • Saturday October 24, 2020 – Elections Office must receive ABR by 5:00 PM
  • Monday November 2, 2020 – Absentee ballots sent by mail to the Elections Office must be postmarked by this date.
  • Monday November 2, 2020 – Last day to request an absentee ballot in person, and/or fix incomplete affidavits.
  • Tuesday November 3, 2020 – General election. Polls close at 9:00 PM and absentee ballots that are not mailed must be turned in at the Elections Office by 9:00 PM.
  • Monday November 9, 2020 – Any absentee ballots that are postmarked
  • November 2, 2020, and that are mailed, and received by noon on this date count in the general election.

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