Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced Wednesday that Iowa has shattered the previous voter turn-out record.
More than 1,697,000 Iowans voted, easily surpassing the previous state record of 1,589,951 set in 2012.
Pate and his staff had an inkling voter interest was spiking.
He says the pandemic may have had a role in this year’s increased turn-out, as social activities have been limited.
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On Monday, Iowans set a record for active registered voters. The new all-time high as of November 2 is 2,095,581.
More than one million Iowans voted absentee, another new record.
As of Wednesday morning, 1,001,840 absentee ballots were received by county auditors.
Pate says there are outstanding absentee ballots that may be counted in the next few days and added to the voter turn-out tally.
State law allows mailed-in absentee ballots to be counted if they have a November 2nd postmark and are delivered to a county auditor’s office by November 9th.