City and school elections are set for Tuesday, Nov. 4 with multiple seats on both the city council and school board on the ballot.

Details on how to become a candidate and be placed on the ballot are on the Johnson County Auditor’s website at https://johnsoncountyiowa.gov/november-4-2025-city-and-school-election.

City Council

• Three to be elected as the four year terms of Lauren Whitehead, Steve Duncan, and Cole Gabriel expire at the end of the year.

Candidates to file at the Johnson County Auditor’s office, 913 S. Dubuque St., Suite 101, Iowa City.

School Board

• Three to be elected as the four-year terms of Cassie Rochholz (1st term), Dan Coons (3rd term), and Tim Brown (4th term) are expiring.

• One to be elected separately to a two-year term to fill a vacancy created when Jami Wolf resigned and Megan Laing was appointed to her seat.

50 signatures are required to be placed on the ballot. All school board candidates file with the school district secretary.

Important dates

• Thursday, Sept. 18 – 5:00 p.m. filing deadline for all cities (other than Iowa City and University Heights) and all school districts.

• Tuesday, Sept. 23 – Withdrawal and challenge deadline for all cities (other than Iowa City and University Heights) and all school districts

Absentee voting

Iowa does not have permanent absentee status, so voters must submit a new request form for each election. Voters cannot request ballots until 70 days before an election. The first day to request absentee ballots for the Nov. 4 election was August 26. The deadline is 15 days before the election. After that date, the Johnson County Auditor’s Office cannot mail an absentee ballot. Early in-person voting is still available, however. Ballots may not be mailed to domestic civilian voters until 20 days before an election.

To request an absentee ballot, print, complete, and mail (or hand deliver) the form found on the Auditor’s website at https://johnsoncountyiowa.gov/auditor-elections.

Your ballot must be received by the time polls close on Election Day. Ballots postmarked before Election Day which reach the Auditor’s Office after Election Day will not be counted (except for overseas and military votes).

In-person voting at the Auditor’s Office

Voters can vote early in person at the Johnson County Auditor’s Office anytime through the day before Election Day starting 20 days before the election. Ballots must be voted in the office and cannot be taken from the office.