More than 28,000 votes have been cast in Dallas County as of Tuesday night, according to the office of the county commissioner of elections, a number representing about 45% of the county’s active registered voters.
Dallas County Senior Elections Clerk Danielle King said her office has seen about 900 to 1,000 votes cast daily “between the ones we’re receiving back in the mail and the 818 Court St. location.”
Wednesday’s miler temperatures appear to be bringing out the democratic spirit in Dallas County voters.
“Our 818 location has steadily gotten more busy,” King said. “We’ve been averaging a little over 600 by mail and between 300 and 450 at 818. They’ve been pretty steady over there today. Most of the lines have been contained inside, but there’s been a few times when people have been waiting outside, too.”
There are 62,638 active voters registered in Dallas County as of this month, according to data from the Iowa Secretary of State.
Absentee ballots were requested by 32,623 voters. Absentee/mail-in balloting began Oct. 5, and in-person will continue through Nov. 2 at the Dallas County temporary elections office at 818 Court St. in Adel from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Court Street polls will also be open Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Absentee ballots may be delivered in person to the Dallas County Auditor’s office at 210 N. 10th St. in Adel on the Nov. 3 election day before the polls close at 9 p.m.
In order to be eligible to vote in the November general election, you must first be a registered voter.
Voters may register to vote on election day at their polling place. To find out whether you are a registered voter, visit the Iowa Secretary of State website. To register to vote you must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years of age, not currently judged by a court to be “incompetent to vote” and not convicted of a felony (or have received a restoration of rights).
In order to register, you will be required to show proof of residency and identity. One valid form of ID is a valid Iowa Driver’s license with your current address. Hard copy proof of residency (electronic copies are acceptable) can be accomplished with any of the following documents:
• Property tax statement
• Utility bill
• Bank Statement
• Paycheck
• Government check
• Other government document
Proof of residency must be current within the last 45 days. A current photo ID that is valid and contains an expiration date can also be used to prove your identity. Valid documents that prove identity include:
• Out-of-state driver’s license
• Non-driver identification card
• U.S. passport
• U.S. military ID
• ID card issued by employer
• Iowa high school or college ID
• Veteran ID
If you are already registered to vote and your name, party and/or address has changed, you can indicate these changes in the same way as you register, and you may do so at any time up to and including on election day. On election day, changes may be made at your polling place and if you have moved and your address has changed, then you will need to go to your new polling site to make the changes and then to vote.
In recent general elections, turnout in Dallas County has been about 75%. In 2016 some 44,056 votes were cast in Dallas County out of 59,041 registered voters, a 75% turnout. The 2012 was about 73%, with 37,004 voters out of 50,847 registered voters casting ballots. In 2008 some 32,315 county voters out of 43,056 registered voters voted, a 75% turnout.
