Early, absentee voting begins tomorrow for the Partisan Primary Elections.
About This Election:
In Iowa, county commissioners of elections are responsible for administering Primary Elections for the Democratic and Republican Parties. These elections are actually a nomination process whereby each party nominates individuals to be the party’s candidate on the General Election ballot. Therefore, winners of a Primary Election race do not win election to office, but win a nomination to move on to the General Election.
Primary Elections in Iowa are “closed” Primaries. This means that there are actually two elections happening on the same day - one for Democrats and one for Republicans. A voter must declare a party before being issued a ballot. To “declare,” a voter simply needs to indicate, on an Absentee Ballot Request Form or at the polls, which party’s ballot they want. A voter cannot be issued a ballot from each party.
Voting In-Person:
Beginning Thursday, April 28, individuals may vote in-person at the Election Services Department of the Auditor’s Office. The office is located in the Linn County Public Service Center, 935 2nd St SW in Cedar Rapids. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Voting by Mail:
Voters may also request to have an absentee ballot mailed to them. These voters may return their ballot by mail or hand-deliver their ballot to the Election Services Department. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before Monday, June 6 in order to be counted.
Election Portal:
Go to www.LinnCountyElections.org to gain access to all election-related information for Linn County.
Dates & Deadlines
4/28/2016 Absentee Voting to Begin
5/27/2016 Last Day to Pre-register to Vote for this Election - Friday
6/3/2016 Last Day to Request an Absentee Ballot to be Mailed
6/4/2016 Auditor's Office Open for Absentee Voting - Saturday
6/6/2016 Last Day to Vote Absentee (Auditor's Office)
6/7/2016 Election Day
6/14/2016 County Canvass of Votes
6/17/2016 Deadline to Request a Recount
7/5/2016 State Canvass of Votes
For questions regarding this election, call the Linn County Election Services Office at (319) 892-5300, ext. 1 or email [email protected]