How to be a poll worker in Iowa

A guide to becoming a poll worker in Iowa.

If you’d like to be an election worker in Iowa, the easiest way to do it is to go to pollworker.iowa.gov.

There, you can click or tap on the “Become a Precinct Election Official” button and fill out a form. The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office will send it to your county auditor, who will reach out to you to follow up.

The form doesn’t mean you’re not committing to being a poll worker, and there also isn’t a guarantee you’ll be contacted.

Iowa law requires a balance of Democratic and Republican election officials at polling locations, which is why you have to note your political affiliation. But if you’re registered with a third party, you can still serve, because there are requirements for them as well.

Whether you get a call depends on what your county auditor needs in terms of that balance. Historically, Iowa hasn’t had a shortage of poll workers.

“Iowans are civically engaged, and they’ve continued to step up,” said Ashley Hunt, communications director for the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. “For the most part, most counties have not had to deal too much with shortages.”

In fact, Iowa’s efforts to recruit poll workers have been nationally recognized by the National Association of Secretaries of State, a group of about 40 secretaries of state.

“We are seeing already a couple other states implement similar poll worker recruitment initiatives,” Hunt said.

Still, some longtime poll workers who are ready to retire.

So if you’re interested, fill out the form or call your county auditor directly and ask how you can get involved.

“We always tell people if they have questions or concerns about how Iowa’s elections are run, they should become a poll worker, because you get that first-hand look at the steps that go into keeping the election safe and secure,” Hunt said.