March 18, 2024

Absentee voting has begun

Last day to request ballot is Nov. 4

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Jasper County voters, you are officially on the clock.

Voters began filing in and out of the Jasper County Auditor’s office Thursday, becoming some of the first Iowans to vote in person in this year’s Nov. 8 general election. Thursday was Iowa’s first day of early and absentee voting in this election cycle and hundreds of Jasper County voters took advantage of the opportunity.

Two of those voters are Ila and Bruce Walker of rural Monroe.

“It was so quick,” Bruce Walker said. “Sometimes, in a small place like Monroe, there will only be one or two places to vote, and it can take quite a while.”

The Walkers voted in person, but still completed the same absentee ballot used for both in-person and mailed absentee voting. They’re among the 2,318 Jasper County voters who had requested an absentee ballot as of Thursday.

There were more than 9,300 absentee ballots requested in the county during the 2012 general election cycle. There were only about 6,600 in 2008.

On-site early voting for the Nov. 8 election will take place through Nov. 7 at the auditor’s office, located on the second floor of the Jasper County Courthouse. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For those who would rather vote absentee by mail, absentee ballot request forms can be printed from the Iowa Secretary of State’s website or by calling the auditor’s 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 Nov. 4, but all ballots must be either submitted in person by Nov. 7 or returned by mail postmarked by that date.

An official canvassing of ballots is scheduled for Nov. 15.

Some residents who winter in warmer climates are grateful for the opportunity to vote early. That’s the case for Ila and Bruce Walker.

“We won’t be in town on Nov. 8, so we had to vote now,” Ila Walker said. “We do church mission work so we’re glad we could vote before we left for the season.”

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