The short version
Iowa nominates through party primaries in June. You get on the ballot by filing nomination papers — a notarized affidavit of candidacy plus petition signatures from voters in the district. Major-party primary winners and qualifying independents advance to November.
- Offices you can run for
- Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide offices (Governor and other state officials); the Iowa Senate and House; county and city offices; and judicial seats (retention).
- How to get on the ballot
- File nomination papers — a notarized affidavit of candidacy plus the required petition signatures — with the right filing officer by the deadline; federal and statewide candidates file with the Secretary of State. Best practice is to collect more than the minimum in case signatures are challenged, and to file early so any errors can be fixed. Signature counts vary by office.
- Who runs candidate filing
- Iowa Secretary of State — Elections Division
This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and fees change every election cycle and vary by office — the official Iowa resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.
Official Iowa candidate resources
Start here for the exact deadlines, fees, forms, and signature counts for your office and cycle.
Once you're on the ballot, Motion51 runs your field game.
Get your district's voter file loaded, cut into walkable turf, and onto an app your volunteers use at the door. Iowa is fully available — see how to get your voter file.
Talk to us about your Iowa race
Tell us what you're running for and we'll help you go from "qualified" to "knocking doors" — voter file loaded, turf cut, volunteers set up.