The Iowa Democratic Party recently sent new absentee ballot request forms to thousands of voters after discovering that the original forms were not able to be processed by the postal service due to their shape. The issue was identified after a call on Sept. 9, prompting the party to immediately have new forms created and mailed out to the affected voters on Sept. 17.
As of Wednesday morning, over 21,000 voters who received the new forms had submitted a request to their county auditors. IDP Chair Rita Hart assured the public that they are working with local party officials to address any additional concerns. Secretary of State Paul Pate recommended that political parties and candidates adhere to state laws when mailing out absentee ballot requests, ensuring compliance with postal regulations and confirming return postage costs and addresses.
Iowa voters can request absentee ballots until Oct. 21, and are encouraged to do so as early as possible. County auditors will begin mailing out ballots on Oct. 16, and completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5, in order to be counted. Voters can track the status of their absentee ballot request through the state’s ballot tracking system. More information on voting is available at VoterReady.Iowa.Gov. The IDP remains confident that all concerns regarding the absentee ballot request forms will be resolved.
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