COMMUNITY

Election Guide: What you need to know before heading to the polls today

Kelly McGowan
The Des Moines Register

Election Day is Tuesday in the Des Moines metro. Here's everything you need to know before heading to the polls:

Q: Who is running? 

A: This is a regular city election. There are city council seats and, in some cases, mayoral seats on the ballot. (See below for a full list of candidates and links to their bios.) 

In addition, several cities have public measures on the ballot.

Voters in Dallas County cities will decide whether they want to increase the local sales tax by 1 cent. 

MORE:What will Dallas County do with 1-cent sales tax money?

Iowa voters head to the polls Tuesday to elect city council members and mayors.

Urbandale will ask its residents whether the city should issue $6 million in bonds to pay for a third fire station. 

Q: Where do I vote? 

A: Registered voters can visit the Iowa Secretary of State's website to find their polling locations. Polling locations also can be found on the Polk County auditor's website and the Dallas County auditor's website. 

Q: What if I'm not registered, can I still vote? 

A: Yes. You can register at your polling location if you bring a valid ID and proof of residence. If you don't have either of those things you can bring a registered voter from your precinct to attest that you are who you say you are. Details can be found here. 

MORE:Which candidate has spent the most in Des Moines' city council races?

Q: Do I need to show an ID to vote? 

A: No. Iowa's new voter ID law signed in May does not go into effect until the June 2018 gubernatorial primaries. At that time, all voters will need to show a driver's license, non-operators' ID, military ID, passport or a new state-issued voter ID card. If voters don't have proper ID, they'll be asked to cast a provisional ballot. 

Q: When can I vote? 

A: If you have not already cast a ballot, the polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Q: Can my vote really make a difference? 

A: Absolutely. Local elections have notoriously low voter turnout. The last city election, in 2015, saw just 6.5 percent of registered voters turn out to vote in Des Moines. That year, Linda Westergaard won the city's Ward 2 seat by 206 votes. 

GUEST COLUMN:Make your voice heard, be a voter on Nov. 7

Q: Where can I learn more about who's running? 

A: Check out our candidate bios below. Click on the names for more information about each person running.

Des Moines

Seats open: One at-large council seat, Wards 1 and Ward 3 council seats

At large: (Vote for no more than 1)

Connie Boesen

Skip Moore*

Ward 1: (Vote for no more than 1)

Bill Gray

Ward 3: (Vote for no more than 1)

Michael Kiernan

Abshir Omar Mahamed

Josh Mandelbaum

Altoona

Seats: Mayor, three at-large council seats

Mayor: 

Dean O'Connor

At large: (Vote for no more than 3)

Jeremy M. Boka*

Scott Duer

Kyle D. Mertz*

Ankeny

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Gary Lorenz*

Dennis Presnall (Presnall's name will appear on the ballot, but he announced Oct. 19 on Facebook that he was withdrawing from the race.) 

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Kerry Walter-Ashby

Kelly Whiting

Dallas Center

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Julie Becker

Michael Kidd*

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

David Bagby*

Robert Haxton

Curtis Pion*

Grimes

Seats open: Mayor, three at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Scott Mikkelsen

At large: (Vote for no more than 3)

Jill Altringer

Ryan Burger 

David Gisch 

Johnston

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Paula Dierenfeld*

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Gerd Clabaugh

James Evans

David Lindeman

Rhonda Martin 

Pleasant Hill

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Sara Kurovski

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Dean Cooper

Ross Grooters

Patrick Hoye

Polk City

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Jason Morse*

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Michael Bakken

Dan Lane

Brian Nelson

Mandy Vogel

Jeff Walters

Urbandale

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Robert Andeweg*

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Ron Pogge

David Russell*

Michael Sadler

Waukee 

Seats open: Three at-large council seats

At large: (Vote for no more than 3)

Anna Bergman*

Charlie Bottenberg*

Courtney Clarke

Brian Harrison*

West Des Moines

Seats open: Mayor, one at-large council seat, Wards 1 and Ward 3 council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Steven Gaer* 

At large: (Vote for no more than 1)

Renee Hardman 

Rick Messerschmidt*

Ward 1: (Vote for no more than 1)

Kevin Trevillyan*

Ward 3: (Vote for no more than 1)

Russ Trimble

Nadir Mehta 

Park commissioner: (Vote for no more than 2)

Heather Schebel

Rick Swalwell

Windsor Heights

Seats open: Mayor, three at-large council seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Brent Bialas

Dave Burgess

Tony Timm

At large: (Vote for no more than 3)

Brenda Beye

Kevin Corkrean

Joseph Jones

Mike Jones

Michael Libbie

Michael Loffredo II

Joseph McConville

Sean Murphy

Jennifer Schumann

Clive

Seats open: Mayor, two at-large seats

Mayor: (Vote for no more than 1)

Scott Cirksena*

At large: (Vote for no more than 2)

Eric Klein*

Mike McCoy*

 

*Incumbent

Sources: Polk County Auditor's Office, Dallas County Auditor's Office