Cities in Iowa
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Top 100 cities by population |
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities.
This page includes the following resources:
- The city governments covered by Ballotpedia in Iowa
- An overview of local elections in Iowa
- An overview of the initiative process in Iowa
Cities
City government
Click the links in the table below for information about the cities in Ballotpedia's coverage scope and the county governments that overlap those cities:
| City | County |
|---|---|
| Des Moines | Polk County, Warren County |
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 99 counties, 940 cities, towns, and villages, and 445 special districts.[1]
Elections
Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.
2024
2023
2022
Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Iowa that year.
2021
2020
Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Iowa that year.
Past elections
Initiative process availability
In Iowa, initiative is only available in charter cities. State statues mandate an initiative process for citizens to propose charter amendments through petition. Charter cities also have authority to permit an initiative process for ordinances.[2]
The Iowa Supreme Court, in City of Clinton v. Sheridan, 530 N.W.2d 690 (Iowa 1995), held that general law cities are prohibited from adopting local initiative and referendum measures. The rationale is that state statutes grant municipal legislation power to city councils (Iowa Code § 364), and a city provision allowing electorate-initiated ordinances would improperly contradict these statutes. Authority could be granted through future state legislation. The court confirmed that charter cities can grant initiative and referendum power within the charter for local ordinances/measures. A recent Iowa Supreme Court case discusses the legislative versus administrative limits of this process (Berent v. City of Iowa City, 738 N.W.2d 193 (Iowa, 2007)).[3]
See also
| Iowa | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
