Absentee ballot requests for the November election will be mailed later this month

The Iowa Secretary of State Office will be mailing absentee ballot request forms in late August to every registered voter in Iowa for this November's General Election.  Winneshiek County Auditor Ben Steines wants you to know how the process will work.

Steines says voters who wish to cast an absentee ballot have to fill out the form they'll receive from Secretary of State Paul Pate.  The form must be filled in to include the voter's Drivers License number (or PIN number if they don't have a driver's license).  The Winneshiek County Auditor's Office will NOT send out a ballot unless the form is complete.

Businesses, churches, civic groups and other organizations can also pick up Absentee Balloting Request Forms at the Winneshiek County Courthouse.  Candidates for office and political parties also will most likely be sending out absentee ballot request forms.

The ballots themselves will be mailed out starting Monday, October 5th, to people who have requested a ballot.  Steines says people should fill out the ballot right away.  The voter preregistration deadline and the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5:00 p.m. Saturday, October 24th.

Steines says he's expecting "a pretty high percentage" of absentee ballots being cast out of the whole number of votes cast.

Election questions can be directed to the Auditor's Office at (563) 382-5085 or by e-mailing auditor@co.winneshiek.ia.us.