The regular city/school election will be held as a combined election on November 2, 2021. The city/school election will use the regular general election precincts. Voters will go to the polls for this election at the same place that they vote for a regular general (presidential or gubernatorial) election.

The Iowa legislature made many changes that will affect voters in its 2021 session, which changes will go into effect for the city/school election. Eligible voters in Grundy County may request an absentee ballot for the city/school election from the Grundy County Auditor’s Office. Requests for an absentee ballot to be mailed may be filed with the Grundy County Auditor’s Office through October 18.

It is anticipated that absentee ballots will be available for the city/school election on October 13. This is the first day that absentee ballots may be mailed to voters. It is also the first day to vote absentee in person at the County Auditor’s Office. Eligible voters may vote in person at the County Auditor’s Office until November 1 at 5:00 p.m.

All absentee ballots must be received by the County Auditor by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 2. Postmarks or bar codes printed on ballot envelopes will no longer make a ballot received after Election Day valid except ballots from participants in the Safe at Home program received by the Secretary of State in time to be transmitted to the County Auditor by noon on the Monday following the election and ballots from uniformed and overseas citizens received by noon on the Monday following the election.

Absentee ballot request forms must include the date the request is signed. The request forms may not be sent to a voter by the County Auditor unless a voter requests a form. Absentee ballot request forms may be sent to voters by candidates, political groups, and other private organizations, but no fields on the request form may be prefilled except for the type and date of election.

The only people who may return a voted absentee ballot to the County Auditor’s Office other than the voter are someone living in the voter’s household, an immediate family member, the special precinct election officials who deliver a ballot to the resident of a healthcare facility, or a delivery agent if a voter is unable to return a ballot due to blindness or other disability.

The deadline to pre-register to vote in the city/school election is October 18. If an eligible elector is not already registered to vote, he or she may do so in one of the following ways:

Register to vote by mail: Voter registration forms are available on the Grundy County website – www.grundycountyiowa.gov – under the heading “Where do I ….?” Click on “Register to Vote” to download a voter registration form. The completed form should be delivered or mailed to your County Auditor.

Register to vote in person at the County Auditor’s Office by October 18 at 5:00 p.m.

Register to vote online: Voters may go to https://sos.iowa.gov/ and follow the online voter registration link. An Iowa driver’s license or non-operator ID is required for online registration.

Eligible electors may also register to vote on Election Day with both proof of identity and proof of residency. This same day voter registration procedure may slow up the voting experience for voters choosing to wait until Election Day to register and vote at the polling site.

Polls will be open for the city/school election on November 2, 2021, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For a provisional ballot to be counted, the voter must either provide the necessary identification at the polling place before it closes at 8:00 p.m. or provide the necessary identification at the County Auditor’s Office by noon on November 8. Employers must allow employees two consecutive hours to vote on Election Day if the employee does not already have two consecutive hours off during the time the polls are open.