Record 827,572 Iowans request absentee ballot for early voting

DES MOINES — With less than two weeks until the polls close on Election Day, the pace of early voting in Iowa is way ahead of previous records.

More than 827,000 Iowans asked for an absentee ballot so they may vote early either in-person at their county auditor’s office or by mail.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s website shows nearly 571,000 Iowans have already voted; 53% of them are Democrats, 30% are Republicans and 16% are registered as “no party” or independent voters.

The latest voter registration data shows there are about 13,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats in Iowa. For the past few decades, independent voters had been the largest voting block in Iowa, but they’ve been surpassed this year by voters aligning with the two major parties