Three county school districts holding special Sept. 13 elections

As of Wednesday, there have already been 55 requests submitted to the Jasper County Auditor’s office for absentee ballots it doesn’t even have yet.

Jasper County Deputy Auditor Tina Mulgrew said Wednesday her office is waiting on a shipment of ballots from Election Systems & Software, Inc., an Omaha company that also sold ballot-counting equipment and support to Jasper County. Once the ballots arrive the auditor’s office can begin sending out absentee ballots for one of the Sept. 13 special school elections or having voters complete them on site.

“I was told we’ll get them either Friday or next Monday,” Mulgrew said Wednesday. “We’re not planning to set up booths in the (courthouse) hallway for the Sept. 13 election like we did for the June 7 primary. When someone comes in, it should be pretty simple. There’s only one question on each ballot.”

Newton Community School District residents can vote early on the $26.9 million general obligation bond that would provide funds for the rebuilding of Berg Middle School, which requires a 60 percent voter approval.

Colfax-Mingo School District residents will vote on one board of directors seat, but no names will be on the ballot.

Jason Webster was appointed about one year ago to fill the board position formerly held by the late Rebecca Maher. The board recently scheduled a special Sept. 13 election to cover the final year of a regular four-year board term, but neither Webster nor anyone else filed for the vacant District 1 position.

Mulgrew said there will be only the District 1 seat listed on the district’s ballots, with no names listed, plus a place for one write-in candidate. Only a simply majority is needed to win the seat, but the winner must live within Colfax-Mingo’s District 1 director boundaries.

Baxter School District residents are voting on continuing a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, or PPEL tax.

Absentee ballots can be obtained by mail or by calling the office at 641-792-7016 and requesting an absentee ballots request form be mailed. The last day the office will field requests for absentee ballots to be mailed out is Sept. 9, but all ballots must be either submitted in person by Sept. 12 or returned by mail postmarked by that date.

Those wishing to vote by absentee ballot may do so personally in the auditor’s office of the Jasper County Courthouse in Newton, once Mulgrew and the auditor’s office have ballots available. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Party affiliation has no impact on voting in the Sept. 13 election.

On Sept. 13, all Newton Schools voters can vote in person from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Jasper County Community Center, located at 2401 First Avenue East.

For Colfax-Mingo schools, polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Polling locations will be in the Mingo Community Center and at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Colfax.

Baxter School District voters will also vote from noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 13. They’ll use the Baxter Community Center.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com