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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Iowa

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Rules governing school board elections

Iowa overview:

Election dates: Off cycle
• Party labels: No; Nonpartisan
• System: General only


Key policies:
Election dates and timing
Party labels on the ballot

Key terms
On-cycle elections
Off-cycle elections
Off-year elections
Off-date elections
Party labels
Partisan elections
Nonpartisan elections


School board general elections in Iowa are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Iowa Statute Section 277.1

How does Iowa compare to other states?

Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.

The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.

  • 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
    • 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
    • 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
  • 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
  • 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
  • Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.


See also

School board election rules:

School board election coverage:

Terms and context:


Footnotes