Better Ballot Iowa is a nonpartisan grassroots movement working to bring Voting 2.0 (single open primaries and ranked choice voting) to Iowa.
See where're we're heading and what we've accomplished on the way.
Better Ballot Iowa started in 2021 with seven people and $200. No staff, no legislators in our corner. Just a belief that Iowa deserves better elections and the willingness to do the work.
Four years later, we're a grassroots, nonpartisan movement with nearly 7,000 supporters. We've had real wins at the statehouse and in communities across the state.
We're not done. By 2028, we need 70,000 Iowans behind this effort and 77 legislators fully committed to making Voting 2.0 law. Here's what it's taken to get this far — and why we believe we can make our goal reality.
Our Recipe for Success
A problem that touches most Iowans. 80% of Iowans live in districts where the outcome is decided before Election Day even arrives. Iowans are frustrated - Republicans, Democrats, independents, and third-party voters are all feeling it.
A message that crosses party lines. In over 10,000 conversations with Iowans since our founding, we keep hearing the same thing: people want more options and more power back in their hands. That kind of consensus is rare. We're building on it.
Two small changes. Outsized impact. Voting 2.0 doesn't require rebuilding our elections from scratch. It's two straightforward upgrades — both with decades of proven results across the country — that would fundamentally open up Iowa's political process to more voices and more competition.
In 2025, 44 Iowa legislators voted to legalize ranked choice voting in municipal elections. That's 44 legislators who are open to the idea of Voting 2.0. We need 77 onboard to enact Voting 2.0.
Real progress at the statehouse, in Iowa communities, and in the coalition we're building.
The Iowa League of Women Voters has officially endorsed ranked choice voting. The Iowa State Auditors Association hosted a Better Ballot Iowa speaker at their annual convention. We're building the coalitions this work requires.
Iowa House and Senate Democrats voted unanimously in favor of an amendment to legalize municipal ranked choice voting — a signal that momentum is building across the aisle.
For the third consecutive year, Better Ballot Iowa tabled at the Iowa State Fair — reaching thousands of Iowans and growing our grassroots base one conversation at a time.
When bills that would have blocked ranked choice voting came forward in two legislative sessions, we rallied Iowans to respond. 6,393 emails sent, 148 public comments filed, 55 Iowans at subcommittee hearings, and more than 10 major media placements.
Better Ballot Iowa authored the "Local Options" bill to legalize municipal ranked choice voting. It was sponsored by State Government Chair Rep. Jane Bloomingdale — a senior Republican.
Cedar Rapids' Charter Review Commission formally endorsed ranked choice voting as a future option — a meaningful step in Iowa's third-largest city.
Ranked choice voting and open primaries become law only when enough Iowans demand it — and enough legislators deliver it. Our goal by 2028: 70,000 supporters and 77 fully committed legislators. We know what that roadmap looks like. We just need the resources to execute it. When you donate to Better Ballot Iowa, your dollar helps us…
Most Iowa voters haven't heard about Voting 2.0. But when they do, 3 out of 4 support it. Your gift helps us reach these Iowans and bring them into our movement.
Change doesn't happen without people willing to show up. Your support helps us recruit, train, and organize the volunteers who knock on doors, staff events, and spread the word in their communities.
So far, 44 legislators have voiced support for Voting 2.0. We need 77 to get us across the finish line. Your gift helps us identify, reach, and persuade the lawmakers who can make this real.
Every donation funds the voter education, volunteer organizing, and legislator outreach that turn a movement into law.
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