By: Donovan W. Mann – donovanm@977thebolt.com
Des Moines, IA – Absentee ballot request forms are in the mail to all registered voters in the state of Iowa.
According to a release from the Office of Iowa’s Secretary of State, Paul Pate, the absentee ballot request forms for this coming November General Election are in the mail. The report says the office mailed them out this past weekend.
Secretary Pate says that voting absentee is about providing another safe option but voters will always have the right to choose how they cast their ballot. “Iowans have options about how they choose to cast their vote,” Secretary Pate says. “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 voters will receive include pre-paid, first class mail postage and an envelope to return the request form to the voter’s county auditor. The process will match that which occurred during the June primary election. During the June election Secretary Pate reports a record-high voter participation of over 530,000 Iowans.
While not being an issue reported in any of the local area counties, some Iowa County auditors made a mistake of distributing pre-filled forms. Secretary Pate warns voters to not use these forms. “If you returned a pre-filled absentee request form from your county auditor, I encourage you to fill out this official form and return it,” Secretary Pate says. “Unfortunately, we had a few county auditors who made reckless decisions that have confused voters and possibly disenfranchised them. This mailing from my office will help ensure those Iowans receive ballots and are able to vote.”
The mailing voters can expect from Iowa Secretary of State will include information bout how to vote absentee or on Election Day. County auditors will begin mailing out ballots on Oct. 5 and the request form must be received by the local auditor no later than Saturday, Oct. 24 at 5 pm.
Secretary Paul Pate and his office want to assure voters that he and all the country auditors are doing their part to assure a safe and fair election this November. Voters will be able to track the statues of their absentee ballot online at sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus/absentee/search