DES MOINES - Almost 1.7 million Iowans cast their ballot on Tuesday, breaking the previous record, set in 2012, by more than 100,000 votes.
Despite the record turnout, multiple county auditors told Local 5 the night ran smoothly.
"It was a really good night for Polk County residents, Polk County voters and Iowa in general," Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said. "We had lines for about two hours [early on]. The lines did move quickly though."
Dallas County was another county that smashed previous records. In 2016, a little more than 38,000 residents voted in Dallas County. This election, there were more than 34,000 absentee ballots alone cast. In total, the county processed more than 56,000 ballots.
Over in Marshall County, the numbers were almost identical to 2016 but there was a rise in absentee ballots, a common theme across the state.
"I feel like this election there was a lot of interest and hype and how important voting was. I think voting has been stressed a lot over the last month," Marshall County Auditor Nan Benson said Wednesday.
In total, the state processed more than a million absentee ballots.