Fax Your Iowa Ballot From Overseas
Iowa takes a faxed ballot only from an active member of the armed forces or the Iowa National Guard who is outside the U.S. and its territories.
The Iowa Secretary of State lets a military voter return a voted absentee ballot by fax or email only if the voter is an active member of the army, navy, marine corps, merchant marine, coast guard, air force, or Iowa National Guard and is outside the U.S. or any of its territories; a voter located inside the United States must return the ballot by mail, and the Secretary names no fax option for overseas civilians. Source
10 pages free every month. No credit card.
What goes in the fax
Fax the pages together, to the line your election office uses for ballots.
Every page of it, including any page you left blank.
An Iowa military voter who returns a voted ballot by fax or email must sign a statement waiving the right to a secret ballot and affirming eligibility to return the ballot electronically; the Secretary of State's page names no specific form.
Read the state’s instructionsYour county's ballot fax
The state's directory publishes no ballot fax line for any county. Call the office before you send and ask for the line.
From the Iowa directory, checked September 30, 2026.
Only if you qualify: you are an active member of the armed forces or the Iowa National Guard, outside the U.S..
Call before you send. Fax lines change and some stop answering. A short call confirms the ballot fax number and whether the office has your ballot request. An office’s general fax is not always its ballot line.
Deadlines
The Iowa Secretary of State states a ballot returned by fax or email must be received in the county auditor's office before the polls close at 8 p.m. Central Time on Election Day; the same page gives 9 p.m. (CST) as the poll close for a faxed FWAB in a federal election.
sos.iowa.gov/voters/military-votersAn Iowa military voter may receive the blank absentee ballot by mail, email, or fax, and asks for email or fax delivery by giving the county auditor a valid email address or fax number on the request.
sos.iowa.gov/voters/military-votersWhat it costs
Every account gets 10 free pages a month, and a page to a US fax number counts as one. A ballot packet of up to 10 pages sends free, with no credit card.
Free pages reset on the 1st. If a second ballot in the same month takes you past 10 pages, a Lite pack covers it, with no subscription.
To get your blank ballot by fax, you need a fax number of your own. A One-Time Fax Number is $14.99 once and receives for 90 days, with 50 pages. Starter is $4.99 a month. A ballot sent to you by email needs neither.
Questions
Can I fax my Iowa ballot from any country?
If you qualify, yes. A US fax number receives a fax the same way wherever it is sent from. Whether Iowa takes it depends on the condition at the top of this page, so read it before you send.
What if my county's fax line doesn't answer?
Call the number in your county's row before you try again. A line that rings and never connects will not start working on a retry, and the office can tell you whether the number changed.
My county's row has no ballot fax. Where do I send it?
Call the number in your county's row and ask for the fax line the office takes ballots on. The state's directory does not publish one for that office, and an office's general fax is not always its ballot line.
Do I need my own fax number to send my ballot?
No. Sending needs only the fax number your election office uses. A number of your own matters only if you want the blank ballot faxed to you.
Is this an official Iowa election site?
No. FaxTerra is a fax service. Iowa's rules come from its election authority and your county, linked under official sources.
Official sources
This page is nonpartisan. FaxTerra is a fax service and does not support or oppose any party or candidate. Iowa and your election office set the rules; follow them where they differ from anything here. Reviewed September 2026.
- "They sent the fax absolutely free. Kudos!" · Dan
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