Pepper PurpuraDES MOINES, Iowa —

Nearly one in five ballots received statewide so far this election season came from Polk or Dallas County, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s latest absentee ballot report.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, the state had received 373,544 ballots out of 404,957 requested. Polk and Dallas counties accounted for 72,964 of the ballots received, or about 19.5%.

Polk County had received 60,061 ballots, already surpassing its 2022 early-voting total of 55,851 by more than 4,200. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said his office set a record Wednesday, with more than 1,700 people voting there.

Dallas County had received 12,903 ballots as of Thursday morning. That was 969 short of its total for all of early voting in 2022, when the county received 13,872. Four days of early voting remained before Election Day.

Lines had been a regular sight at the Dallas County auditor’s office. County Auditor Todd Halbur said there was a constant flow of voters since early voting opened.

“It’s encouraging to see this many people voting,” Dallas County voter Cheryl Zach said.

The turnout comes as Dallas County’s population grows. Waukee, which is in Dallas County, has an estimated population of 34,420. The city describes itself as Iowa’s fastest-growing large city and estimates its population has grown 20% to 25% since 2022.

That’s contributed to Dallas County’s registered-voter increase. Halbur said the county had about 70,000 registered voters four years ago.

“We just crossed 80,000 total registered voters for the first time ever in Dallas County on July 1 of this year,” Halbur said. “We’re right at about 81,000 right now.”

Early voting continues through Monday, Nov. 2. Find a polling place here.

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This content is imported from infogram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.