Iowans can start voting as of today for the June 5 primary. Many Democratic campaigns took the opportunity to bring out their supporters to a county auditor’s office early today and get their first votes in the bank.
Secretary of State candidate Deidre DeJear is holding five early votes event this week and next, starting with a noon rally today in Des Moines at the DSM Brew coffee shop. She’ll also hit up Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City and Waterloo in later days.
Nate Boulton gathered supporters early this morning to be some of the first in the state to cast their ballots at the Polk County Auditor’s office.
It’s a later start to voting than usual thanks to Republicans’ new restrictions on early voting. In year’s past, voting began 40 days out from the election, which fell on a Thursday. Now, voting begins 29 days out, starting on a Monday.
That shortened timeline was largely seen as a way to take two weekends away during which Democrats could chase absentee ballots in their field efforts. It also had the effect of pushing early voting past the end of most colleges’ semesters, meaning many students won’t be on campus to vote during the primary. College Democrats groups have made extensive efforts to get students pre-registered and signed up for absentee ballots. However, some students don’t even know what address they’ll be living at over the summer in order to get a ballot in the mail.
You can vote at your county auditor’s office between now and Election Day.
by Pat Rynard
Posted 5/7/18