Getting closer to crunch time

Registered voters should be on the lookout for absentee ballot request forms in their mailboxes this month.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is sending the forms to active registered voters ahead of the November election to encourage social distancing at polling places during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tactic was used in June during the primary election, resulting in a record turnout in the Hawkeye State as more than 500,000 votes were cast. The previous record was set at 449,490 in 1994.

"Iowans have options about how they choose to cast their vote," Pate said in a news release. "You can vote from home, you can vote in-person at your county auditor's office, or at the polls on Election Day. The key is we want every eligible Iowan to participate and to be safe while voting."

The forms include pre-paid, first class mail postage and an envelope to return the request form to the voter's county auditor. The mailing also includes information about how to vote absentee or on Election Day.

County auditors will begin mailing ballots on Oct. 5. Ballot request forms from voters that didn't receive the secretary of state's mailing must be received no later than Saturday, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. Unregistered voters are encouraged to complete the simple sign up process as soon as possible by visiting the Iowa Secretary of State Office's website and filling out a short form, or by contacting or visiting your county auditor's office.

If a big absentee turnout was seen during the primary this year, odds are numbers could be even greater come November. O'Brien County Auditor Barb Rohwer was confident her office is ready to handle whichever way voters choose to cast their ballots.

"I think it went very well," she said of the June election. "The primary gave us a great background with training, and we plan on doing pretty much the same this time around."

O'Brien County will not have an absentee ballot drop box like some of its counterparts. The secretary of state's office is allowing the use of the drop-off locations under strict guidelines, but Rohwer believed the criteria would be too hard to meet since every office at the courthouse currently uses the same drop box.

"If voters don't feel comfortable mailing or dropping off their ballots, one of my staff can come meet them outside if they call ahead," Rohwer said. "I would have loved to use the drop box, but the rules won't allow it here."

Additionally, the number of polling locations will be reduced in November. There will be more than there were in June, but social distancing requirements will force changes in some towns. In Hartley, voting booths will move from the library to the community center.

Though Rohwer can't send ballots until Oct. 5, she said some voters are already eager to fill in the circles.

"We've already been getting duplicate absentee requests because some people think we can send them right now," she said. "These next couple of weeks will really tell the tale if people are planning on voting absentee or going to the ballot box."