Early voting starts today in Iowa

For Iowans weary of being hassled about voting by well-meaning but overeager political campaigns, there's a remedy.

Early voting starts today.

"I always tell my friends who complain to me about all the phone calls and mail and door knocks that there's a sure-fire way to get no mail and no phone calls, and that's to vote as soon as possible," said longtime Democratic operative Grant Woodard, the campaign manager for Jack Hatch's gubernatorial bid. "You will be taken off every list."

The political operatives' strategy is this: Use the 40 days before the election to lasso as many votes as possible, instead of waiting to whip up voting during the 14 hours polls are open on Election Day.

It's a strategy that can shift outcomes of Iowa races — and affect the passage or failure of legislation concerning same-sex marriage, abortion, tax cuts or tax increases, and other matters.

Iowa Republicans have accelerated their early voting efforts this year, but for now, Democrats are still winning this strategy game, state records show.

A handful of high-profile races this year could attract higher voting than for typical midterm elections. Iowans will settle the extraordinarily competitive and expensive U.S. Senate race between Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst, a contest whose outcome could tip the balance of power in the now Democratically held chamber.

They'll also decide whether to keep Republican Terry Branstad, whose experience in the governor's office dates to 1979, or to install Democrat Jack Hatch, who has had a 22-year career in the Iowa Legislature.

Three additional wide-open races are also stirring interest: the congressional seat to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Latham in the Des Moines area, the congressional seat to replace Braley in northeast Iowa, and the state elections chief job.

Absentee voting is growing in popularity in Iowa. Absentee ballots made up 31 percent of the total cast in 2010, and 43 percent in 2012, according to Chance McElhaney, spokesman for the Iowa secretary of state's office.

Democrats honed the strategy, and Republicans are hurrying to catch up.

In 2010, Democrats dominated the battle for absentee ballot requests, logging 20,000 more than the GOP. That was a central reason Democratic U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell came in just ahead of GOP challenger Brad Zaun in the Des Moines-area congressional race. Republican Terry Branstad still won the governor's race by 108,000 overall.

In 2012, Iowa Republicans again thought they would overtake the Democrats' early voting lead to win the presidential race, arguing that GOP voters tend to be traditionalists who like to show up in force on Election Day itself. But Democrats had banked a huge cache of early votes, and President Barack Obama trounced Republican Mitt Romney.

So far this year, Republicans are outpacing their absentee ballot request pace compared with the last two elections (14,000 in 2010, then 25,000 in 2012, and now 35,000).

"It is critical for Democrats to dominate in absentee ballots in order to have a chance on Election Day," said Tommy Schultz, spokesman for Branstad's campaign. "We recognize this, so we have invested heavily this cycle to bring parity to the absentee ballot war."

Numbers for both Democrats and independents are lower than in 2012. But the GOP still lags far behind Democrats in requested ballots as of Wednesday: 68,000 to 35,000.

"It's a question of what matters more — most improved player or most valuable player," said Troy Price, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party.

The big push is just starting.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee already has 33 offices and 200 paid staffers in Iowa working on mobilizing voters, spokesman Justin Barasky said. It will spend more than $2 million on its field operations here, he said. Barasky updated his comments this morning to say the early vote spending by the DSCC and partners such as the Iowa Democratic Party will be about $2 million, "and significantly more for the overall field operation."

The GOP says it has "hundreds of staffers and thousands of volunteers" roaming Iowa with absentee ballot applications, updating their data file in real time as they learn how and when people plan to vote.

For the first time, the Republicans integrated their email database with their voter file so they can send targeted emails that complement their door-knocking, phone calls and mailers, Republican National Committee spokesman Ryan Mahoney said.

Facebook is a battleground, too.

The GOP's Voter Challenge Facebook app asks people to pledge to vote and then challenge three friends on Facebook to vote. The GOP uses its database to match Facebook friends to voter records.

"We then suggest the friends that are optimal for them to challenge to vote," Mahoney said.

Both parties are trying to net votes they'd otherwise miss. Democrats argue the GOP mostly snares conservative voters who were going to show up to vote anyway. Democrats are tracking Iowa GOPers who request ballots and say, so far, the vast majority have been faithful voters who cast ballots in the 2010 midterm.

The strategy Democrats use is more surgical, Woodard said. They target 18-year-olds, older first-time voters, Iowa transplants, and voters who don't show up unless presidential candidates are on the ballot.

"Which one of us will be more successful?" said GOP strategist David Kochel of Des Moines. "We'll know soon enough. We've got an aggressive plan in place, and we're confident our voters are going to respond and vote in big numbers."

When, HOW TO VOTE IN IOWA

Eligible voters can:

• Cast an early vote by filling out an absentee ballot in person at their county auditor's office or at satellite locations designated by the county auditor. This option starts today and runs through Monday, Nov. 3.

• Request an absentee ballot by mail.

• Vote at their designated precinct polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Source: Iowa Secretary of State

Submit questions for debate

You're invited to submit questions to ask U.S. Senate candidates Bruce Braley and Joni Ernst in their debate Sunday evening.

The Des Moines Register and KCCI-TV are sponsoring the debate, to be held from 5 to 6 p.m. at Simpson College.

Moderators Kathie Obradovich, political columnist at the Register, and Kevin Cooney, KCCI senior anchor, will include a sampling of questions from readers and viewers. For a question to be considered, send it by 5 p.m. today by emailing vtouzani@dmreg.com. Or submit it via Twitter by using #AskBraley, #AskErnst and #IADebate.

Watch the debate live on KCCI Channel 8 and at DesMoinesRegister.com/Debate. Follow comprehensive coverage, including analysis, photos, video clips and more, at DesMoinesRegister.com.