Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate, has sent absentee ballot request forms to every registered voter in Iowa. Carroll County Auditor, Kourtney Irlbeck, joins Pate and auditors across the state in urging all residents to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming June 2 primary as this is the safest method available during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ballot request forms will be arriving in mailboxes yet this month and include a return envelope with pre-paid postage. Request forms can also be downloaded directly from the Iowa Secretary of State website at VoterReady.Iowa.gov. Requests must be received by the auditor’s office by 5 p.m. Friday, May 22. “We want all eligible citizens to participate in our elections and casting a ballot by mail is the best method during this pandemic,” Pate says. “Absentee voting has security measures in place to ensure the integrity of the ballot.” The primary elections are intended for members of the Republican and Democratic parties. No Party voters who choose to request a party’s ballot will have their voter registration officially changed to that political party. Those with questions can contact the Carroll County Auditor’s Office at 792-9802 or email Irlbeck at kirlbeck@carrollcountyiowa.org. The early voting period opens today (Thursday) and in-person voting at county auditor’s offices begins May 4.
