Iowa Code § 45.1 (2026)
Nominations by petition
1. Nominations for candidates for president and vice president, governor and lieutenant governor, and for United States senator may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than three thousand five hundred eligible electors, including at least one hundred eligible electors each from at least nineteen counties of the state.
2. Nominations for candidates for statewide offices other than those listed in subsection 1 may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than two thousand five hundred eligible electors, including at least seventy-seven eligible electors from not less than eighteen counties of the state.
3. Nominations for candidates for a representative in the United States house of representatives may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than one thousand seven hundred twenty-six eligible electors who are residents of the congressional district, including at least forty-seven eligible electors each from at least one-half of the counties in the congressional district.
4. Nominations for candidates for the state senate may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than one hundred eligible electors who are residents of the senate district.
5. Nominations for candidates for the state house of representatives may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than fifty eligible electors who are residents of the representative district.
6. Nominations for candidates for offices filled by the voters of a whole county may be made by nomination petitions signed by eligible electors who are residents of the county as follows:
a. For a county with a population of fifteen thousand or fewer according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least fifty signatures.
b. For a county with a population of greater than fifteen thousand but fewer than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least seventy-five signatures.
c. For a county with a population of fifty thousand or greater according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least one hundred signatures.
7. Nominations for candidates for the office of county supervisor elected by the voters of a supervisor district may be made by nomination petitions signed by eligible electors who are residents of the supervisor district as follows:
a. For a supervisor district with a population of fifteen thousand or fewer according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least twenty-one signatures.
b. For a supervisor district with a population of greater than fifteen thousand but no more than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least fifty signatures.
c. For a supervisor district with a population of greater than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least one hundred signatures.
8. a. Nomination papers for the offices of president and vice president shall include the names of the candidates for both offices on each page of the petition. A certificate listing the names of the candidates for presidential electors, one from each congressional district and\n\nTue Dec 09 22:31:10 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 45 (23, 2) §45.1, NOMINATIONS BY PETITION 2\n\ntwo from the state at large, shall be filed in the state commissioner’s office at the same time the nomination papers are filed.
b. Nomination papers for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor shall include the names of candidates for both offices on each page of the petition. Nomination papers for other statewide elected offices and all other offices shall include the name of the candidate on each page of the petition.
9. Nominations for candidates for elective offices in cities where the council has adopted nominations under this chapter may be submitted as follows:
a. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10, in cities having a population of twenty-five thousand or greater according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than seventy-five eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
b. In cities having a population of seven thousand five hundred or greater, but less than twenty-five thousand, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than fifty eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
c. In cities having a population of two thousand five hundred or greater, but less than seven thousand five hundred, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than twenty-five eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
d. In cities having a population of less than two thousand five hundred, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than ten eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
10. Nominations for candidates, other than partisan candidates, for elective offices in special charter cities subject to section 43.112 may be submitted as follows:
a. For the office of mayor and alderman at large, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by seventy-five eligible electors residing in the city.
b. For the office of ward alderman, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by seventy-five eligible electors residing in the ward. [C97, §1100; C24, §651; C27, 31, 35, §655-a17; C39, §655.17; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §45.1; 81 Acts, ch 34, §7] 86 Acts, ch 1224, §7; 88 Acts, ch 1119, §10, 11; 89 Acts, ch 136, §27; 93 Acts, ch 143, §8; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §10; 2007 Acts, ch 25, §2; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §201; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §10; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §18; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §16, 17, 73, 74; 2021 Acts, ch 147, §20, 54; 2021 Acts, ch 174, §31, 34, 37; 2022 Acts, ch 1004, §2 – 4; 2022 Acts, ch 1153, §5 Referred to in §43.20, 45.6 \n