Bleeding Heartland is updating the early voting numbers (absentee ballots requested and returned) statewide and in each of Iowa’s four Congressional districts, based on figures released by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. Click here for previous tables, which make it easier to spot trends in the numbers. The latest Iowa GOP mass mailing to generate early votes continues to filter through, as Republicans added about 1,000 more absentee ballot requests than Democrats did over the past day. The statewide Democratic advantage in ballot requests now stands at roughly 41,000.

In the 2010 midterm election, 360,467 Iowans voted early. As of yesterday, more than 209,000 Iowans had requested absentee ballots, and more than 61,000 had returned them. The 62,881 registered Republicans who had requested absentee ballots as of October 2 represent about 46 percent of the total number of early-voting Iowa Republicans in 2010. The 103,537 Democrats who had requested absentee ballots represent about 67 percent of the number of early-voting Democrats in the last midterm. The 42,424 no-party voters who had requested absentee ballots by October 2 represent about 62 percent of the independents who voted early in Iowa’s last midterm election.

As Bleeding Heartland user Julie Stauch has repeatedly mentioned, these numbers do not tell us which party is doing a better job of mobilizing early votes from “marginal” voters who otherwise would not participate in the midterm. That said, every early vote banked, even from the most reliable Democrat or Republican, helps parties by shrinking the universe of voters they need to contact on or shortly before election day.

Absentee ballots requested by Iowa voters as of October 2, 2014

Congressional district	Democrats	Republicans	no-party voters	Libertarian	Iowa Green	total
IA-01	27,360	13,378	12,290	49	35	53,112
IA-02	30,209	16,143	12,543	45	43	58,983
IA-03	27,386	17,151	9,554	52	31	54,174
IA-04	18,582	16,209	8,037	27	14	42,869
statewide	103,537	62,881	42,424	171	125	209,138

Absentee ballots received by Iowa county auditors as of October 2, 2014

Congressional district	Democrats	Republicans	no-party voters	Libertarian	Iowa Green	total
IA-01	8,995	5,149	2,973	17	7	17,141
IA-02	8,979	5,050	2,647	12	10	16,698
IA-03	7,299	4,887	1,841	11	4	14,042
IA-04	6,164	5,646	2,041	7	2	13,860
statewide	31,437	20,732	9,502	47	23	61,741