How You Can Help Get Voters Registered in Iowa

Tokyo Sand

7 years ago

If winning the White House is one of your goals for 2020, then winning the Electoral College is how you achieve the goal.

As much as I’d prefer that we go by a national popular vote, the fact remains that the system that will be in place to elect the next president is the Electoral College. (And yes, I know there is momentum around the Popular Vote Compact which I’ve written about HERE, but it won’t be in place until 2022 at the earliest.)

Winning the EC will come down to the swing states. Here is a quick rundown of Iowa, plus how you can help the state go blue on Election Night.

Electoral Votes: 6

Presidential Voting History

2000 – D
2004 – R
2008 – D
2012 – D
2016 – R

Recent Turnout

2016 Presidential Election
Democrats 653,669
Republicans 800,983

2018 Midterms
Democrats 458,902
Republicans 492,802

Key Down Ballot Races in 2020

High profile or competitive races at the state level can drive turnout to the polls. Here’s what’s on deck next year.

U.S. Senate
Republican Joni Ernst is up for re-election

U.S. House
All 4 of Iowa’s House seats are competitive. 3 belong to the Democrats, and the lone Republican is Steve King, who was kicked off of all House committees by the GOP due to his racist comments.

State House
The Republicans hold the majority at 53-46, so it doesn’t take too many flipped seats for the Democrats to take the state house.

How You Can Help

Get involved with voter registration and voter turnout efforts. You can join or donate to one of the following organizations, or you can volunteer for a candidate you’re inspired by. Here’s a short list to get you started:

Find your local Democratic party organization: Iowa Democratic Party

Find voter registration events: League of Women Voters Iowa

Join: Indivisible Iowa

Find progressive events in Iowa: Mobilize America

Voter Registration Info: Iowa Secretary of State Website

Volunteer for a candidate: 15 Ways to Help a Campaign Win Their Election