Courthouses see steady flow of voters

Early voting started Monday with area courthouses seeing hundreds of people by the afternoon.

With the Nov. 3 general election just under a month away, voters are turning out to courthouses to get their vote in early.

Washington, Henry and Jefferson county courthouses started seeing voters in the morning with a steady flow into the afternoon.

In Fairfield, Deputy Auditor Abbie DeKleine said it was a steady morning, but a line started to from during the lunch hour.

By 1:30 p.m., Henry County had 72 voters and Jefferson County had 70 voters.

Including ballots requested by mail, Washington County reported 4,258 voters as of 3 p.m. Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer said that his office mailed out about 4,000 ballots Monday morning.

Early voting has taken on a bigger role in this election with many voters wanting to avoid the crowds at the polling locations on Election Day.

'We've got about double the amount that we had four years ago,” Jefferson County Auditor Scott Reneker said. 'A lot of people are opting to vote this method who haven't done it before.”

For the 2016 general election, Jefferson County mailed out 500 ballots on the first day they could be sent and just more than 1,600 total absentee ballots by the time Election Day arrived.

Henry County mailed out 2,645 absentee ballots prior to Election Day in 2016, while Washington County sent out just over 4,700 for the 2016 General Election.

In Iowa, there are plenty of races in which voters may be engaged. Polls suggest the presidential race between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden is close, as is the state's high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Joni Ernst and Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. That one could determine which party emerges from the election with a majority in the Senate.

And Republicans' unblocked control of the state lawmaking process is on the ballot in the form of the race to the Iowa House majority.

'This election is going to come down to the wire, there's no doubt about that. And there's so much at stake,” Republican state party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said during a conference call with state reporters. He then listed a series of issues - the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Senate filibuster rule, the Electoral College - that he said Iowa voters should consider when choosing candidates. 'That's why this election is so important, and that's why every single vote matters.”

Absentee voters have different options to submit their ballots. They can come to the county courthouse and cast their ballot there as hundreds did Monday.

For those who want to avoid going to the courthouse, they can request a ballot by mail.

Each ballot comes with a postage-paid envelope, enabling voters to mail their ballot for free.

Reneker acknowledged that there has recently been a focus on the U.S. Postal Service's ability to handle all of the mailed ballots, which may have accounted for many of those voting early in-person.

'There has been more focus lately on the Postal Service and their ability to handle the process,” he said. 'Voters have the option to bring it straight to our office if they choose to.”

Voters in any county have the option of personally delivering their ballots to their respective auditors.

In addition, Washington and Henry counties each have secure drop boxes where voters can deposit their ballots. Jefferson County does not have a drop box.

Henry County Auditor Shelly Barber said it is important for voters to submit the ballots they received.

Erin Murphy of Lee Enterprises contributed to this report.