Press Release: Absentee Ballot Requests may be filed for the upcoming 2026 General Election

Absentee Ballot Requests may be filed for the upcoming 2026 General Election

Karla Weiss, Commissioner of Elections announces that voters interested in voting absentee for the November 3, 2026 General Election may file a request for an absentee ballot with the Winnebago County Auditor's Office.

Voters may request a ballot by mail from now through October 19th at 5:00 pm. The ballots will be mailed out October 14th - 19th. In-person absentee voting at the Auditor's office is anticipated to start October 14th through November 2nd (Monday through Friday 8:00 - 4:30 pm).

Each request for an absentee ballot must contain one voter's name, residential address, and mailing address (if different from the residential address), date of birth, Iowa Driver's License or Non-Operator ID Number or 4-digit Voter PIN, the election the absentee ballot is for, signature of the person requesting a ballot, and date signed. State forms can be downloaded from the Secretary of State website:

https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/absenteeinfo.html. Send written requests to the Auditor's office, 126 S. Clark Street, Forest City, Iowa 50436.

All voted absentee ballots must be received by the County Auditor by 8:00 pm on Election Day, November 3, 2026 in order to be counted. Postmarks or bar codes printed on ballot envelopes will no longer make the 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.

Important Deadlines:

Monday, October 19, 2026, open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - Deadline to register to vote and be listed in the Election Day registers. Also, the deadline to request Auditor mail out absentee ballots.

Saturday, October 31, 2026, open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - Deadline for Auditor to review absentee affidavits.

Saturday, October 31, 2026, open 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - In-person voting and returning absentee ballots

Monday, November 2, 2026, open 8:00 am to 4:30 pm - Last day to request and vote absentee ballot in the Auditor's office.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026, open 7:00 am to 8:00 pm - Deadline to return a voted absentee ballot to the Auditor's Office.

Questions regarding absentee voting may be directed to the Auditor's Office at 641-585-3412. Voters can also follow Winnebago County on Facebook or https://www.winnebagocountyiowa.gov for election information.