Posted on

Tuesday election brings contested races, new voter ID law

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County voters will have a chance to select members of their city councils and their mayors in several communities Tuesday when city elections take place.

In addition, new state voter identification rules will begin to be used this election.

Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m., according to County Auditor Gloria Carr.

County polling places will be using electronic poll books to register voters at the precincts. All polling places except Colwell will be equipped with laptops, printers and scanners to check voters in, Carr said.

This will be the first election where new state voter identification requirements, passed by the Legislature this year, will come into play.

Precinct election officials will be asking voters for an ID which shows name, address and birthday. Typically this is a state-issued driver’s license or state-issued non-driver photo ID.

“If a voter does not have an ID and the voter has no changes to his or her voter record, the voter will be informed that ID is optional at this time but will be required for future elections,” Carr said.

Iowa law requires voters to vote at the precinct where they reside, Carr said. Registered voters who want to change their information or unregistered voters who want to register at the poll should be prepared and plan for additional time to be processed so they can vote a regular ballot.

Carr pointed out these situations:

• Registered voters who have address changes within the precinct must have an ID or an attester. An attester is a registered voter from the same precinct, with ID, who is willing to sign an oath swearing the potential voter is from that precinct.

• Registered voters who have address changes within the county from another precinct will need to provide ID and proof of residency with the new address or an attester.

• Persons who have not yet registered to vote in the county will need to provide ID and proof of residence or have an attester.

Potential voters who can’t meet these requirements can file a provisional ballot that will be presented after the election to a precinct board that will rule whether the information provided is sufficient to count the ballot, Carr said.

“The e-poll books will aid tremendously” in complying with new election requirements, Carr said. Several precinct election officers (PEOs) have been trained on the equipment and are excited to start using it, she said.

“This system prompts questions to ensure identity and residency requirements are met, speeds up the process for voter name and address changes, verifies Election Day registration voters against Iowa’s felon list, and in some situations reduces the need to offer provisional ballots, allowing voters to cast a regular ballot,” Carr said.

“I respectfully ask that you not get upset with the PEO who asks for your ID,” Carr said. “Every voter is treated the same and will have to meet the ID requirements. Even if the PEO is your neighbor, friend or relative, the PEO has to follow the new ID requirements before letting you proceed to vote.

“Whether you like this new law or not, please respect your PEOs and his or her duty to comply with Iowa election laws,” Carr said.

She suggested that anyone with questions call her office at 641-257-6131 or email gcarr@floydcoia.org.

• • •

In Charles City the two incumbents are running for additional terms on the City Council, but there will be a new mayor after Jim Erb decided not to seek re-election.

The most hotly contested races in the county are for Rockford City Council, where seven people are running for three at-large seats, and for the Marble Rock City Council, where six people are running for three at-large seats.

No one filed for Colwell mayor, and only one person filed for one of five available Colwell City Council seats.

No one filed for Nora Springs mayor, either.

These are the races on the ballots Tuesday in Floyd County elections (“i” indicates incumbent):

• Charles City mayor — Dean Andrews and Matt Lovik.

• Charles City Council (2 seats) — DeLaine Freeseman (i) and Gerald W. Joerger (i).

• Colwell mayor — No one filed.

• Colwell City Council (5 seats) — Judy Budwig (i).

• Floyd mayor — Trevis K. O’Connell (i).

• Floyd City Council (2 seats) — Kevin Krueger (i) and Charlie Newman (i).

• Marble Rock (3 seats) — J.R. Ackley (i), Beverly Fisher, Gary L. Schmidt (i), Todd Schriever (i), Kaylah Schweizer and Steven Wells.

• Nora Springs mayor — No one filed.

• Nora Springs City Council (2 seats) — Larry Cross, James Kraninger and Margaret Ueker (i).

• Rockford mayor — Scott Johnson (i).

• Rockford City Council (3 seats) — Vernon Arndt (i), N. Bruce Inman, Derek Johnson, Diane Marker, Daniel Paulus, Michael J. Smith (i) and Jason Stokes (i).

• Rudd mayor — Donna Lunsford.

Rudd City Council (2 seats) — Jeffrey C. Buland, Matthew A. Bouillon, Mike Rachut and Tyler Scheer.

 

 

Social Share

LATEST NEWS