In less than a week, the General Election will be held across the country. Voters will weigh in on races from President of the United States to county supervisors. More people in Washington County have requested absentee ballots this election than they did four years ago. In the last presidential election, Washington County had 4,705 absentee ballots.

Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer says many people have already voted early locally, “We have received in just over 5,200 absentee ballots. There’s been 6,107 absentee ballots requested. So, that tells you there’s still a lot of absentee ballots out there that people need to complete and get returned to the auditor’s office. And there’s been about 1,250 in-person absentee voters at the courthouse. I think that’s very noteworthy. And I think people are taking serious the whole idea of voting at home by way of absentee to avoid long lines on election day and decrease exposure to the coronavirus.”

People who still have their absentee ballot can put it in the mail but it needs to be postmarked by November 2nd to be counted in the election. Other options to turn ballots in include taking it directly to the Auditor’s office by the end of business Monday or putting it in the 24-hour secure drop box on the west side of the courthouse.

Voters can also cast ballots early in person at the auditor’s office during business hours now through Friday, or from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. to vote in person. To find your polling location in Iowa click here.

If you have voted with an absentee ballot you can track it online here on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.