Absentee Voting

Hello, Leroy and I will be out of the country on voting day. It seems like a complicated business to get an absentee ballot and get it in at the right time. I had Leroy check my request because I did not want to have a mistake and have it turned down. It seems that it would be simpler to just go to the county clerk and ask for the ballot, but no, we have to request it by mail within a certain number of days. After all that care I still made a mistake. The office called to let me know they got the request, but I had given my birthday date as 12/25/2022. Oh no! I said with a laugh, “You do not believe that is accurate?” “No, especially since it is just September now and not December,” she replied, “I just need to know your year.” I gave her that information with relief. It did not get thrown out. She did remind me that they cannot send out the ballots until after October 19. As soon as we get the ballots we can vote and put it back in the mail. It has to be postmarked with the right date. We cannot turn it in at the county office. It also has to be marked with the date it is received. Personally, I find this all very unnerving. Does this mean from now on, as long as we live in Iowa, we must plan our vacation times so that we are not out of town on voting day. Paula