Auditor: Changes to Iowa law may reduce number of votes

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) -So far, turnout is tracking normally here in Woodbury County, but Auditor Pat Gill says changes from the legislature may reduce the total number of voters in an upcoming primary on June 7.

About 1,500 voters have turned in their ballots early so far, putting the county on pace for its usual 3,500 early votes in a primary election.

The Plymouth County Clerk tells KTIV the county has seen a slightly reduced early voting turnout, with about 180 of the usual 500 early voters submitting ballots.

Gill says changes to Iowa election law will likely lead to fewer voters. Gill says the state now has just 20 early-voting days instead of 40, and election officials can no longer send out absentee ballot request forms without a request from a voter. Gill says the compressed time frame makes mail-in voting much less viable.

“It will, I mean, we’ve already seen it. A lot of people, they were very angry during the school election when we didn’t mail out the absentee ballots, and they (voters) were very angry that (we) didn’t do it. So it’s kind of an educational process (about new procedures),” said Pat Gill, the Woodbury County auditor.

Some voting precincts have changed after redistricting, but any early voter can submit their ballot at the courthouse.

Iowa does allow same-day registration, meaning Iowans can register at the polling place on June 7 when the election officially takes place. Registered voters need some form of ID, while non-registered voters need an ID and a document showing their address