(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s two major political parties are emphasizing different metrics as Election Day draws near — the new “Iowa Poll” showing Democrat Kamala Harris with a narrow lead and early voting stats showing Iowa Republicans with an edge.  Governor Kim Reynolds has been asking Republicans a question: “How many in here have voted already?” Nearly every person at a recent gathering of central Iowa conservatives raised their hand. “Woohoo! That’s awesome,” Reynolds told the crowd. “Vote early. Bank that vote and then go get 10-12people to the polls…This is what I’m starting to see and the numbers are reflecting it.”

Reynolds helped raise the money for the state party’s plan to reach voters who asked for an absentee ballot, but haven’t cast it, or get infrequent voters to cast a ballot on Election Day.  “We have limited resources,” Reynolds says, “and we can use those resources more effectively to ballot chase or to get people that maybe don’t always go to the polls to get them to the polls.” By Friday night, Republicans had an early voting edge over Democrats of about one-and-a-half percent. It’s the first time since 2014 that Republicans have been ahead in early voting.

“It’s looking good,” Reynolds told Radio Iowa Friday night. “When you look at how close it is right now compared to where it was in 2022 and compared to where it was in previous elections, we’re in a really good place.” On Saturday night, Democrats began citing the Des Moines Register’s latest “Iowa Poll.” It found Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by three points among Iowans who intend to vote or have already cast an early vote.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says it’s an exciting development, but she offered a word of caution to Democrats. “Remember, this is just a poll,” Hart said, “and what really matters is that Iowans show up and make their voices heard.” Hart gave a pep talk Saturday morning to a group Clinton County Democrats before they headed out to talk to voters. “I know it’s crazy, but there are some people out there that have not made up their minds yet,” Hart said. “Your phone call or your know on the door could make the difference.”

Former Governor Tom Vilsack cast his vote early late last week and then met with a group of local Democrats in the town square in Adel. “They weren’t honking because of traffic,” Vilsack said as a passing motorist honked. “They’re honking because they saw the signs. That is an indication that there’s something going on here.”

County election officials are urging Iowans who still have an absentee ballot to take it to their county auditor’s office, since absentee ballots have to be in the county auditor’s office by 8 p.m. Tuesday or they will not be counted. Voting at neighborhood precincts starts at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal judge has rejected a bid to block Secretary of State Paul Pate’s order that election workers check the citizenship status of over two-thousand people who’ve registered to vote in Iowa. The judge said about 12 percent of people on Pate’s list apparently aren’t U-S citizens and it would be inappropriate to force election officials to let ineligible voters cast ballots. Pate says the ruling is a win for election integrity.

The ACLU of Iowa sued the state last week on behalf of four naturalized U-S citizens. The group’s legal counsel says they’re still concerned some Iowans who become citizens in the past several years will not be able to vote, but they’re glad Pate has now agreed that people on the list may present their naturalization papers at a polling place and cast a regular ballot.

Pate released the list two weeks ago and originally said people flagged as potential non-citizens had to cast a provisional ballot, then go to their county auditor AFTER Election Day to prove their citizenship.

(Iowa News Service) – Poll results indicate Iowa’s rural voters say the economy, jobs, and inflation top the list of critical issues for them in tomorrow’s election. Thirty-seven percent of Iowa’s population lives in rural areas. Nearly 400,000 Iowans have already cast ballots, and the rural vote could help determine the outcome of the presidential election in Iowa.

Rural Democracy Initiative’s Executive Director Sarah Jaynes said rural voters want elected leaders to make lowering costs and increasing wages for working people a priority – not reducing taxes for wealthy people or deregulating corporations. “They’re very focused on working people as kind of the heroes of the economy, and concerns that impact working-class people,” said Jaynes. “Rural people and smalltown folks are more likely to be working class. About 70% of rural folks are working class.”

USA Politics News Concept: US State Iowa Flag Wooden Fence

The Rural Democracy Initiative poll also found nearly eight in ten rural voters say they are against banning abortion – similar to numbers in March.

Jaynes said aside from high-profile issues like abortion and inflation, rural Iowa voters support candidates who will focus on policies that support local workers.

“People want to make sure that they have the tools and the opportunities to create a good life for themselves and their families,” said Jaynes. “And that shows up in their support for child care and health care.”

Other recent polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in a dead heat in the presidential race.