Iowa Secretary of State’s Office Maintains Up-To-Date Voter Registration Lists to Keep Iowa Elections Secure

DES MOINES – The role of Iowa Secretary of State requires a balance: ensuring Iowa elections are safe, secure, and fair and empowering every eligible voter to make their voices heard in Iowa elections. Iowa is consistently named a top-ranked state nationally in election administration and boasts strong voter participation and turnout rates.

A core component of keeping Iowa elections safe and secure is maintaining clean voter lists. The Iowa Secretary of State’s office continually works with the Iowa legislature to implement robust procedures that update a voter’s registration status to reflect participation. Registered voters who do not participate in the most recent Iowa general election are marked as “inactive.” Their registration is canceled if the registered voter does not vote in two consecutive general elections.

As part of this process, approximately 183,000 inactive voters who have not participated in an Iowa election since 2020 have now been marked as canceled. Iowans receive notice upon any change in registration status. Affected Iowans then have the opportunity to return to active status and make necessary updates.

“This process is critical in balancing voter integrity and voter participation: clean voter registration lists keep elections secure and accurate, and same day voter registration allows any eligible voter to register to vote at the polls, on Election Day, and cast a ballot,” said Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Iowans who have questions about their voter registration status should check or update their status in under three minutes at VoterReady.Iowa.Gov.

Iowa’s most recent voter registration breakdown is available at this link.

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