The world’s eyes will be on the United States for the 2020 general election this November, and in Iowa one of the first processes leading up to the event has begun.
Effective now through October 24th, the Dallas County Auditor’s Office is accepting absentee ballot request forms by mail. With ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of polling location availability on Election Day, Auditor Julia Helm continues to encourage absentee and early voting, much as she did for the June primary election. However, due to recent legislation to limit the emergency powers of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, ballot request forms are not expected to be mailed to every registered voter as they were for the primary. In spite of that, Helm promises that the process is still fairly easy, with Dallas County residents able to request forms online or by calling her office at 515-993-6914.
She also notes that though absentee requests are now available, the actual ballots for the general election won’t be sent to voters until October. Absentee and early voting begins on October 5th, though the Secretary of State may move up the window if he feels the coronavirus threat warrants that type of action, which he did for the primary. Helm points out that they had not only the biggest percentage of absentee votes cast for an election of any kind in June, but also the largest voter turnout for a primary in Dallas County history. She expects that to be the case in November as well. For more information on general election voting in Dallas County, click the link below to visit the Auditor’s official website.