465
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Area Education Agency 14 (Green Valley)
Administrative Center, Creston; (641) 782-8443;
www.aea14.k12.ia.us
Counties: Adair, Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Montgomery, Ringgold, Taylor, and Union. Board
president, Julie Wilken; interim administrator, David Van Horn. Assessed valuation:
$2,176,433,662 for 2007-2008. Population of area education agency: 63,770 based on 2000 cen-
sus. Size of area education agency: 3,854 square miles. Size of area education agency board: 8.
Number of local districts: 19. School enrollment: public — 9,864, nonpublic — 177. Enrollment
figures are as of October 2008.
Great Prairie Area Education Agency
Business Office: Ottumwa; (641) 682-8591;
Burlington; (319) 753-6561
www.gpaea.k12.ia.us
Counties: Appanoose, Davis, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Lucas,
Mahaska, Monroe, Van Buren, Wapello, and Wayne. Board president, Harold L. Mick; adminis-
trator, Joseph M. Crozier. Assessed valuation: $6,683,011,081 for 2007-2008. Population of
area education agency: 247,659 based on 2000 census. Size of area education agency: 6,360
square miles. Size of area education agency board: 9. Number of local districts: 35. School
enrollment: public — 37,394, nonpublic — 1,217. Enrollment figures are as of September 2008.
469
ELECTIONS
ELECTION DATES AND FILING DEADLINES
School Elections
School elections are held on the second Tuesday in September of each odd-numbered year.
Nomination petitions are filed with the school secretary not more than 64 days nor less than 40
days before the date of the election.
City Elections
City elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-
numbered year. Some cities hold primary elections four weeks before the regular election, and
some cities hold runoff elections four weeks after the regular city election.
Nomination petitions for cities with primary elections are filed not more than 85 days nor less
than 68 days before the date of the election. Nomination petitions for other cities are filed with the
city clerk not more than 71 days nor less than 47 days before the date of the election.
Primary Elections
Primary elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June of each even-
numbered year for the members of political parties to nominate candidates for the general election
ballot. A political party is defined in state law as a party which, at the last preceding general elec-
tion, cast for its candidate for U.S. President or Governor, as applicable, at least 2 percent of the
total vote cast for that office at that election.
Candidates for federal, statewide, and legislative offices must file their nomination petitions
with the Secretary of State not more than 99 days nor less than 81 days before the date of the
election.
Nomination petitions for county offices must be filed with the county auditor in the appropriate
county not more than 92 days nor less than 69 days before the date of the election.
General Elections
General elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each
even-numbered year.
Candidates for offices to be filled at the general election may also be nominated by petition or
by nonparty political organizations. Candidates for county and township offices file with the
county auditor in the appropriate county.
After the primary election, political parties may make nominations by convention for offices
for which there was no one nominated at the primary or to fill vacancies on the general election
ballot caused by the withdrawal or death of primary election nominees. The last day to file is the
same as the deadline for nonpartisan nominations.
Nomination forms are free and may be obtained from the office where the papers are to be
filed. There are no filing fees for any office.
ABSENTEE VOTING
Any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot. You do not need to give a specific reason or
explanation for voting by absentee ballot on the absentee ballot application.
Voting by absentee ballot includes voting by mail, in person at the county auditor’s office, in
person at a satellite voting station prior to election day, or by having a ballot personally delivered
to you if you live at a health care facility or are a patient in a hospital.
To vote in person prior to an election, you may go to the county auditor’s office or a satellite
voting station. You cannot take the ballot home with you. The county auditor’s office is open on
the Saturday before primary and general elections. On election day, you may not vote by absen-
tee ballot at the county auditor’s office or a satellite voting station. However, for an election for
which the commissioner has directed that the polls open at noon, a person may vote absentee at
the commissioner’s office from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. on election day.