DES MOINES – Secretary of State Paul Pate’s Spring 2022 Iowa Youth Straw Poll takes place Tuesday. Thousands of students across Iowa will cast ballots for their preferred candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and Iowa Governor. More than 170 schools have registered to participate so far. The Iowa Youth Straw Poll is open to any K-12 school in the state, as well as civic organizations and youth groups. Candidates were asked to provide a short video with a personalized message for Iowa students. The videos are available on the Elections 101 website and on Secretary Pate’s YouTube page.

Students, teachers, and organizations can register for the Iowa Youth Straw Poll by clicking here. The full list of schools that have registered so far is available here.

The Youth Straw Poll is part of the Elections 101 curriculum developed by Secretary Pate for use in Iowa schools. Live results will be published at this link starting Tuesday morning and updated throughout the day. You can also view past results at that link. A news release with results will be distributed late Tuesday afternoon, with a likely follow-up on Wednesday with updated numbers. Teachers and schools are encouraged to post photos of their Youth Straw Poll events on social media, using the #BeAVoter hashtag.

Every congressional and gubernatorial candidate who qualified for Iowa’s 2022 primary or general election ballots is included in the Youth Straw Poll.

*The Iowa Youth Straw Poll is about involving students in a hands-on civics activity and getting them interested in voting, not particularly about the candidates themselves. Over the weekend, a Polk County District Court Judge found that U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer did not have enough valid signatures to appear on the June 2022 primary election ballot. The decision may be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. Youth Straw Poll ballots have already been provided to teachers with Mrs. Finkenauer’s name appearing on them. Students may vote for her if they wish, and all those results will be included in the tally.