General election · November 3, 2026

Iowa

Every certified statewide question and statewide race, translated into everyday language and linked to its official source.

Adding ballot measures…

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RegistrationIowa’s official state calendar lists the 2026 general-election voter pre-registration deadline as Monday, October 19, 2026. The Secretary of State says the pre-registration deadline is 15 days before the election, and this general-election date is November 3, 2026. Pre-registering is different from same-day registration.Official details ↗

Early votingIowa’s official state site says you can vote absentee in person at your county auditor’s office before the election, but it does not give one statewide early-voting date on the general-election page I checked. The absentee-voting page says in-person absentee voting is available before any election at the county auditor’s office.Official details ↗

Absentee or mailFor a mailed absentee ballot, Iowa says your written request must reach your county auditor by 5:00 p.m. 15 days before the election. For the November 3, 2026 general election, that is Monday, October 19, 2026. Iowa says returned absentee ballots are counted if they are received by the time polls close on Election Day; the site also says you can mail it so it is received before 8:00 p.m. CT on Election Day, or hand-deliver it to the county auditor by 8:00 p.m. CT on Election Day. Iowa also says you can vote absentee in person at the county auditor’s office before Election Day.Official details ↗

What may still change

I did not find a separate statewide early-voting calendar page with exact in-person absentee start and end dates for the November 3, 2026 general election; the official page I checked confirms in-person absentee voting exists before the election but does not list one statewide date range.
Iowa has same-day registration on Election Day, so the pre-registration deadline is not the only way to register.
For mailed absentee ballots, the official site gives a request deadline and a return deadline rule, but county auditors may also have local instructions.
I am using the Iowa Secretary of State’s official pages only; county offices may post extra local details, but I did not use those here.
I found one statewide Iowa ballot measure certified for the November 3, 2026 general election on the Iowa Secretary of State and Iowa Legislature pages. The Secretary of State’s general election page lists offices, not measures, so I used the Iowa Legislature’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment page as the direct official certification source for ballot measures.
Iowa’s official proposed-amendment page shows SJR 11 as ‘Passage May 3, 2026’ and provides publication records, which is the clearest official evidence that it advanced to the 2026 ballot. I did not find a separate official voter guide page with a distinct ballot-measure section, so I used the Legislature page plus the enrolled resolution text and fiscal note.
I found no other certified statewide measures on the official Iowa Legislature proposed-amendment page for the 2026 general election. Other proposals listed there were either from prior years or marked ‘Did Not Advance.’
The fiscal note for the ballot-measure proposal is a correctional-impact/fiscal-services note tied to the measure, not a broad revenue estimate. It does not give a single statewide dollar impact for the constitutional amendment itself.

Federal race · Information incomplete

U.S. Senate: United States Senator

This office is one of Iowa’s two U.S. Senate seats. The U.S. Senate helps make federal laws, approves many presidential nominations, and takes part in treaty and impeachment votes.

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What this office does

Represents Iowa in the U.S. Senate, where senators write and vote on federal laws, confirm many federal officials and judges, approve treaties, and conduct impeachment trials.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows the office of United States Senator on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Governor: Governor

The governor is Iowa’s chief executive. This office leads state agencies, carries out state laws, and proposes the state budget.

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What this office does

Leads the executive branch of Iowa state government, directs state agencies, helps set the state budget agenda, and carries out state laws.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Governor on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Secretary of State: Secretary of State

The secretary of state runs and helps oversee Iowa elections and also handles many state business records.

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What this office does

Oversees Iowa’s election administration, including candidate filing and election procedures, and manages other state business records and filings.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Secretary of State on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Auditor of State: Auditor of State

The auditor of state checks how state government spends money and whether state agencies follow accounting rules.

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What this office does

Audits state government finances and operations, reviews spending controls, and reports on whether public money is being handled properly.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Auditor of State on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Treasurer of State: Treasurer of State

The treasurer of state manages Iowa’s cash and investments and helps safeguard state funds.

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What this office does

Manages state cash, investments, and related treasury functions for Iowa government.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Treasurer of State on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Secretary of Agriculture: Secretary of Agriculture

The secretary of agriculture oversees state agriculture programs and helps support Iowa’s farm and food economy.

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What this office does

Leads state agriculture policy and programs, including work tied to farming, livestock, food systems, and related regulation.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Secretary of Agriculture on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Statewide race · Information incomplete

Attorney General: Attorney General

The attorney general is Iowa’s top state lawyer. This office represents the state in court and gives legal advice to state government.

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What this office does

Serves as Iowa’s chief legal officer, represents the state in legal matters, and provides legal advice and enforcement support to state government.

Financial impact

No official fiscal estimate was located.

Supporters’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Opponents’ strongest case

No sourced argument was located.

Key facts

Official candidate list shows Attorney General on the November 3, 2026 general election candidate list.
The official PDF did not show any candidate names for this race on the page I reviewed.

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Secretary of State – 2026 General Election Candidate List Database (All Elections)↗

Ballot measure · Certified

SJR 11: Requirements Certain State Tax Law Changes

This amendment would make it harder for the Iowa Legislature to raise the individual income tax rate or create a new state tax on individual income. Those bills would need two-thirds approval in each chamber instead of a simple majority.

Read the breakdown

Official ballot wording

The Constitution of the State of Iowa is amended by adding the following new section to new Article XIII: ARTICLE XIII. TAXATION LIMITATIONS. Sec. 1. Two-thirds majority vote for individual income changes. Passage of a bill that increases the individual income tax rate shall require the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly. Passage of a bill that establishes a new tax on any type of individual income shall require the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly. A lawsuit challenging the proper enactment of a bill under this section must be filed no later than one year following the enactment. If such a lawsuit is not filed within the one-year limit, the bill shall be considered properly enacted under this section. Each bill to which this section applies must include a separate provision describing the requirements for enactment prescribed by this section. The general assembly shall enact laws to implement this section.

Voting yes means

A yes vote would approve the constitutional amendment and add the two-thirds vote requirement for the kinds of income-tax changes listed in the text.

Voting no means

A no vote would reject the amendment and keep current constitutional voting rules in place for those tax bills.

Financial impact

The official fiscal note on the Legislature’s page is titled ‘Final Fiscal Note — Ballot Measures, Contributions by Foreign Nationals.’ It is a fiscal-services note tied to the measure, but it does not state a single statewide dollar cost or savings figure for the amendment itself.

Supporters’ strongest case

Supporters’ strongest sourced case in the official text is that the amendment would require broader legislative agreement before certain income-tax increases or new income-based taxes can be enacted, and it would require the bill to say that rule explicitly.

Opponents’ strongest case

Opponents’ strongest sourced case from the text is that the amendment would raise the threshold to pass certain tax changes, which makes those changes harder to enact and could limit future legislative options.

Key facts

The Iowa Legislature’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment page lists SJR 11 with ‘Passage May 3, 2026’ and the short title ‘Requirements Certain State Tax Law Changes.’
The same page shows publication dates in all four congressional districts and links to certificate/affidavit/proof-of-publication materials.
The enrolled/journal text says the amendment applies to bills that increase the individual income tax rate or establish a new tax on any type of individual income, and requires two-thirds of the members elected to each house.
The Iowa Legislature’s fiscal-notes page lists HF 2601 / LSB5420HV.1 as ‘Final Fiscal Note — Ballot Measures, Contributions by Foreign Nationals,’ which is the only fiscal-note entry I found directly tied to the ballot-measure proposal in the 2026 materials I reviewed.
Other proposed amendments on the official page were either from prior election cycles or marked ‘Did Not Advance.’

Inspect the sources

OfficialIowa Legislature — Proposed Constitutional Amendment↗OfficialIowa General Assembly Journal — 05-02-2026↗OfficialIowa General Assembly Bill Packet — 05-03-2026↗OfficialIowa Legislature — Fiscal Notes↗OfficialIowa Secretary of State — General Election↗

Last checked September 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM. AI-drafted from official election sources. Always confirm your sample ballot with your state or local election office.