(Radio Iowa) – This is Primary Election Day in Iowa as voters choose the nominees who’ll represent the two major parties in the General Election. Secretary of State Paul Pate — the top election official in Iowa — isn’t making a prediction on turnout. “We always like to see a very robust turnout, but that is driven by the candidates and the campaigns,” Pate says. “You’ll see across the state those areas that have primaries that have generated a lot of interest you’re going to have a higher turnout.”

Pate says participation in the primaries isn’t likely a predictor of General Election turnout. “It’s not the same thing as this fall when we do have a clear contrast between the parties,” Pate says. Two years ago, more than 356-thousand Iowans voted in the 2022 primaries. It was the second-highest voter turnout since 1994. There is no statewide race this year, though. Pate says all the election equipment being used today (Tuesday) was tested in advance — and ballot tabulators are not connected to the internet.

“We have pre- and post-election audits,” Pate says. “We have paper ballots, bipartisan teams of poll workers and partnerships with election security partners that are all critical components to what we’re doing.”

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You have to be a registered Republican or a registered Democrat to vote in that party’s primary. Iowans may register to vote or switch parties at their local polling site by showing a photo I-D. Absentee ballots have to be received by county auditors by 8 p.m. today (Tuesday) or they will not be counted. You may check online to see if a ballot that was mailed has been received. The website address is voter-ready-dot-iowa-dot-gov (voterready.iowa.gov).