(Des Moines)– Across the U.S. absentee ballots are being mailed in at historic levels. That’s created questions about more rejected ballots because of mistakes, and whether that will affect the election outcome in battleground states like Iowa. But the Iowa Secretary of State says there’s no reason to panic.
An analysis by a collection of media groups predicts as many as one million absentee ballots across the country could be invalidated because of incomplete information from people not used to voting that way. Secretary of State Paul Pate says Iowa law requires county auditors to follow up with voters when there’s a mistake, such as a missing signature…
“Our auditors make every effort to reach out to that voter to give them an opportunity to correct the problem.”
Of the nearly one million absentee ballot requests, Pate says more than 800,000 have been received by his office. He says even when an auditor is trying to follow up on an incomplete ballot, there can be instances where they encounter difficulties…
“Some people may not have the accurate phone numbers on file, or the address that they’ve given us when we reach out to them via the mail.”
He says that’s why it’s crucial to make sure your contact information is accurate. If you are contacted about a mail-in ballot issue, you have until 5:00 pm on November 2nd, the day before the election, to visit your county auditor and address the issue. If that deadline is missed, you can still head to your polling location and vote in person on Election Day.
