RESOURCES FOR VOTING
ISEA NEA Recommended Candidates
Find your polling place
Iowa voter registration form
County auditor addresses
Track your absentee ballot
Look up your legislative district
Vote NO on Amendment 1
2026 Election
2026 is a general election year in Iowa, providing an opportunity to elect pro-public education candidates to Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and the Iowa Legislature.
GET INVOLVED: Complete our Educators for Rob Sand commitment form to help elect leaders who will stand up for Iowa’s students, educators, and working families.
2026 Election Timeline
General Election early voting begins
General Election Day
General elections
State legislators and the governor are responsible for creating and shaping education policies that affect public schools within our state. Even-numbered years in Iowa are General Election years where Iowans have the opportunity to vote for state legislators and - every four years - the governor. The ISEA PAC Committee evaluates candidates for office, educates them on the important issues our members face in the classroom, and ultimately makes candidate recommendations.
School board elections
Local school boards and community college trustee boards have a tremendous influence on the quality of education in your community. They determine education policy, funding distribution, professional salaries and benefits, and working conditions. Critical decisions are made at the local level, and it is incumbent on the men and women who work in public education to advocate for candidates who support strong public schools.
Voting in Iowa
Iowa is a Voter ID state. Make sure to bring one of the following with you to vote: Iowa driver’s license; Iowa voter identification card; Iowa non-operator ID; U.S. military ID or veteran ID; U.S. passport; or tribal ID card/document.
Check your voter registration: Am I Registered?
COMPARISON GUIDE: IOWA’S NEXT GOVERNOR: ON THE ISSUES
- COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS
ROB SAND: supports workers’ right to collectively bargain. He opposed the 2017 changes to Iowa’s public sector collective bargaining law and believes educators and Iowa workers deserve a say in their working conditions.
ZACH LAHN: has NOT stated his position.
His record: He is the former state director for Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the Koch-funded organization that championed the 2017 gutting of Chapter 20 bargaining rights and Iowa’s universal private school voucher law.
- IPERS
ROB SAND: supports maintaining IPERS as a defined benefit. He is strongly opposed to proposals from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force that suggested moving new public employees to 401(k)-style plans.
ZACH LAHN: has NOT said whether he would protect IPERS as a defined benefit. His silence matters: AFP, where Lahn got what he called his “big break,” has spent years working to gut public pension systems across the country.
- PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING
ROB SAND: has committed to making Iowa’s public schools the best in the nation again by making public education a top priority in the state budget, advocating for funding to keep up with inflation, and investing in the success of Iowa’s students and educators.
ZACH LAHN: has publicly stated Iowa is spending “too much money on education.” Lahn also runs an unaccredited private school in Kansas that public records show operated at a loss in five of the last six years, relying in part on millions in loans from Lahn to sustain its operations.
- POLITICAL MANDATES & CULTURE WARS
ROB SAND: strongly opposes bringing “culture wars” into classrooms. He maintains that public schools should focus on foundational education, such as math, science, and reading, rather than imposing political or religious perspectives on students.
ZACH LAHN: has falsely claimed Iowa educators are Marxists and teaching kids to hate America. He has pledged to revoke the teaching licenses of educators who do not comply with state requirements on classroom instruction, but has not explained how or the process for these decisions.
- PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS
ROB SAND: supports public accountability and audits for tax dollars in the Education Savings Accounts program (private school vouchers). He has proposed an income cap for recipients of the program.
ZACH LAHN: has publicly stated he wants to EXPAND the private school voucher program, growing a program that already costs Iowa taxpayers over $300 million a year with no ability to publicly audit taxpayer dollars going into the program.
ISEA’s bipartisan Political Action Committee voted to recommend Rob Sand for Governor after reaching out to all candidates for Governor to discuss issues important to Iowa’s public schools, students, and educators. Zach Lahn did not respond to multiple requests to attend a candidate interview with our members.
Sources for Comparison Guide:
Iowa Press Lahn on public-school funding;
Lahn's campaign policy page for teaching licenses;
Iowa Capital Dispatch for Lahn on ESA expansion;
Sand's campaign priorities for his education/ESA proposals;
Rob Sand on IPERS;
Iowa Capitol Dispatch for Wonder school's finances;
AFP on gutting Iowa Collective Bargaining law;
AFP on gutting public pensions.
