Primary election sees record absentees

     The 2018 Primary Election broke some records.

     In Jones County, Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Janine Sulzner said the number of absentee ballots more than doubled what the county has ever reported for a primary election.

     Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office also reported a record number of absentee ballots across Iowa. “Iowans have shattered the records for absentee voting in a primary election,” Pate’s office stated.

     As of the end of the day on Monday, June 4, a total of 49,808 Iowans had cast absentee ballots for the June 5 primary. The previous high mark was 40,718 in June 2014.

     More Iowans were also registered to vote in this primary election. As of June 1, there were 1,964,522 registered voters in Iowa. The previous lead was the primary in 2010.

     This year’s primary marked the soft rollout of Iowa’s voter ID law. Those showing up at the polls were asked to produce one of several forms of acceptable identification. Those who forgot an ID had to sign a waiver before voting. However, in 2019, all voters will be required to show an ID to vote.

     Sulzner said Jones County did not have any issues related to the voter ID law. However, there were some things they learned. While a driver’s license contains a bar code that can be scanned into the system, passports and military IDs do not, despite being valid forms of identification. In this case, Sulzner said the voter’s information had to be manually typed into the system.

     At some precincts in Jones County, though, Sulzner said poll workers took comments from some voters who felt showing an ID wasn’t necessary.

     “It is the law,” Sulzner reiterated.

     The only hiccup on June 5 was an unexpected water main issue on E. First Street in Monticello, which happened to be located across the street from the city council chambers where voting for Monticello 1 and 2 precincts was held. That quickly turned into a parking issue for voters.

     “The precinct officials told us about the issue that morning,” Sulzner said. By early afternoon, the project encompassed both sides of the street. “No one called here to complain,” she said.

     A sandwich board was placed at the intersection, directing voters to the Grand Street entrance. At 5 p.m. that day, Sheriff Greg Graver hauled in the county’s digital highway message board, making it more visible for voters.

     Due to the Republican race for Jones County Supervisor in District 3, Sulzner said there were more registered Republicans voting in Jones County than Democrats. Sixty-one percent of the total ballots cast was Republicans; 39 percent Democrat; 15 percent Libertarian.

     While overall numbers were not available at press time (the board of supervisors will canvass votes on June 12), Sulzner said the 2018 Primary Election was the second highest in terms of overall turnout. The 1994 primary still holds the record in Jones County, likely due to the race for governor.

     Incumbent County Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach won the primary for Dist. 3 over John Null, 721 votes (58.15 percent) to 519 votes (41.85 percent).

     Despite being a primary election, Zirkelbach said he had to work really hard leading up to the election. “It helped reacquaint me with so many people again,” he said of making his way across Jones County during the campaign. He said a lot of people commented on things going on in the county.

     “I’ve been able to establish more contacts and connections with people,” he said.

     Incumbent County Supervisor Ned Rohwedder was unopposed for Dist. 4 with 975 votes (99.29 percent).

     No candidates filed to run for county attorney; however, there were 30 write-ins.

     Statewide, the Secretary of Ag Republican race saw a leader in current Secretary Mike Naig (34.74 percent). Candidates must win 35 percent of the vote to avoid a state convention where the party picks a winner. Sen. Dan Zumbach was second with 21.37 percent.

     Democrat Fred Hubbell was the clear winner of the race for Governor with 55.53 percent. Hubbell will face current Gov. Kim Reynolds in November.

     For federal office, Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer won the U.S. Rep. Dist. 1 Democratic race with 66.90 percent. She will face Rep. Rod Blum (Republican) in November.