Haven't mailed your absentee ballot yet? It might be a good idea to drop it off at the Courthouse

While over 8,000 absentee ballots have already been mailed to the Winneshiek County Auditor's Office or have been cast in person at the office, there are over 500 absentee ballots which have not been returned yet.

If you are one of those people who asked for an absentee ballot, but haven't mailed it yet, County Auditor Ben Steines says you might have to make an effort to make sure your vote gets counted.

One way you can be guaranteed your ballot will be counted is if it is returned to the dropbox outside the Winneshiek County Courthouse by 9:00 Tuesday night.  Another way is to go to the Courthouse, go inside and drop off the ballot in one of the special ballot boxes at the Auditor's Office.

County Auditor Ben Steines is reminding the public, "Be sure to sign the Affidavit Envelope.  Ballots received after Election Day can only be counted if they contain a valid postmark dated November 2nd or earlier or can be tracked in the USPS barcode system as being mailed no later than November 2nd,  Postmarks and barcode scanning are NOT GUARANTEED, so voters are encouraged to return their ballots as soon as possible (to the Courthouse)".

Early voting in the Auditor's Office (in person absentee voting) will again be conducted from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Monday.