Counties in Iowa

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Counties by state

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Municipal government
Top counties
Top 100 cities by population

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities.

This page includes the following resources:

* The county governments covered by Ballotpedia in Iowa
* A list and map of counties in Iowa
* An overview of local elections in Iowa
* An overview of the initiative process in Iowa

## Contents

* 1 Counties
* 1.1 County government
* 1.2 Full list of counties
* 1.3 Map of counties
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2024
* 2.2 2023
* 2.3 2022
* 2.4 2021
* 2.5 2020
* 2.6 2019
* 2.7 2018
* 2.8 2017
* 2.9 2016
* 2.10 2015
* 3 Initiative process availability
* 4 See also
* 5 External links
* 6 Footnotes

## Counties[edit]

### County government[edit]

Ballotpedia does not have any county governments in this state in its coverage scope.

### Full list of counties[edit]

According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 99 counties, 940 cities, towns, and villages, and 445 special districts.[1]

The following table defaults to displaying only 25 counties at a time. To change the number of counties displayed, use the drop-down menu above the upper left-hand corner of the table. You can also use the search bar above the upper-right corner of the table to look up a specific county.

County

Polk
Adair
Adams
Allamakee
Appanoose
Audubon
Benton
Black Hawk
Boone
Bremer
Buchanan
Buena Vista
Butler
Calhoun
Carroll
Cass
Cedar
Cerro Gordo
Cherokee
Chickasaw
Clarke
Clay
Clayton
Clinton
Crawford
Dallas
Davis
Decatur
Delaware
Des Moines
Dickinson
Dubuque
Emmet
Fayette
Floyd
Franklin
Fremont
Greene
Grundy
Guthrie
Hamilton
Hancock
Hardin
Harrison
Henry
Howard
Humboldt
Ida
Iowa
Jackson
Jasper
Jefferson
Johnson
Jones
Keokuk
Kossuth
Lee
Linn
Louisa
Lucas
Lyon
Madison
Mahaska
Marion
Marshall
Mills
Mitchell
Monona
Monroe
Montgomery
Muscatine
O'Brien
Osceola
Page
Palo Alto
Plymouth
Pocahontas
Pottawattamie
Poweshiek
Ringgold
Sac
Scott
Shelby
Sioux
Story
Tama
Taylor
Union
Van Buren
Wapello
Warren
Washington
Wayne
Webster
Winnebago
Winneshiek
Woodbury
Worth
Wright

### Map of counties[edit]

Counties in blue on the map below are part of Ballotpedia's county coverage scope:

## Elections[edit]

Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.

### 2024[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2024 and School board elections, 2024

* Des Moines, Iowa

### 2023[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2023 and School board elections, 2023

* Des Moines, Iowa
* Iowa school board elections

### 2022[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2022 and School board elections, 2022

Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Iowa that year.

### 2021[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2021 and School board elections, 2021

* Des Moines, Iowa
* Iowa school board elections

### 2020[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2020 and School board elections, 2020

Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Iowa that year.

Past elections

* Click here for past election information

### 2019[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2019 and School board elections, 2019
* Iowa school board elections

### 2018[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2018 and School board elections, 2018

Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Iowa that year.

### 2017[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2017 and School board elections, 2017
* Iowa school board elections

### 2016[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2016 and School board elections, 2016
* Iowa school board elections

### 2015[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2015 and School board elections, 2015
* Iowa school board elections

## Initiative process availability[edit]

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Iowa

In Iowa, initiative is only available in charter cities. State statues mandate an initiative process for citizens to propose charter amendments through petition. Charter cities also have authority to permit an initiative process for ordinances.[2]

The Iowa Supreme Court, in City of Clinton v. Sheridan, 530 N.W.2d 690 (Iowa 1995), held that general law cities are prohibited from adopting local initiative and referendum measures. The rationale is that state statutes grant municipal legislation power to city councils (Iowa Code § 364), and a city provision allowing electorate-initiated ordinances would improperly contradict these statutes. Authority could be granted through future state legislation. The court confirmed that charter cities can grant initiative and referendum power within the charter for local ordinances/measures. A recent Iowa Supreme Court case discusses the legislative versus administrative limits of this process (Berent v. City of Iowa City, 738 N.W.2d 193 (Iowa, 2007)).[3]

## See also[edit]

Iowa | Municipal government | Other local coverage

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* Iowa
* Iowa elections, 2024
* Public policy in Iowa
* Endorsers in Iowa

* Top counties
* 100 largest cities
* Current mayors
* Current council officials

* 2024 municipal elections
* School board elections, 2024
* Local ballot measure elections in 2024
* 2024 local judicial elections

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* Iowa municipal code library
* Iowa state government website

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 Census of Governments – Organization," accessed October 16, 2023
2. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Types & #s of local government by state," September 2012
3. ↑ Iowa Legislative Services Agency, "Legislative Guide to Iowa Local Initiative and Referendum," December 2008

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State of Iowa
Des Moines (capital)

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