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A Woodbury County voter said when he voted early on Saturday the individual who handed him his ballot provided some biased information regarding the proposed “Freedom Amendment” to the Iowa Constitution.

John Burbach of Woodbury County said he will be unavailable to vote on Tuesday so he went in on Saturday to fulfill his civic duty. He said the process was smooth. He showed his ID, they scanned it, he stepped to the side and the worker gave him his ballot. She explained what the sections were, but when she got to the proposed amendment she told him it would make it easier to get guns and make it easier for criminals to get guns too.

“I thought it was just information on the things that we vote for on this side and she wanted us to make sure to check the back side,” Burbach said. “I could live with that.”

But then came the part about the proposed amendment.

“At that time it struck me odd,” he said. “I didn’t think that was what the amendment was about. So I didn’t say anything.”

Burbach took his ballot, voted and secured it in the envelope. But after talking with a couple of other people who went with him, they said she gave them similar information.

“She was letting one that it probably was in my best interest if I voted no on it,” he said.

At that point, he went back to speak with the supervisor and told a person called Steve about the incident. Steve said he would speak with the worker. Sure enough, prior to John leaving, he saw Steve speaking with the worker, though he wasn’t sure what it was about.

Iowa Firearms Coalition is calling for a formal investigation into the allegations.

“Fair elections are a pillar of our democracy and what has allegedly transpired at the Woodbury County Courthouse is both highly illegal and calls into question the integrity of any early voting that took place there,” said IFC President Dave Funk. “We call on Woodbury County Auditor Patrick Gill to remove the polling staffer in question immediately and we demand the state conduct a formal investigation to uncover the extent to what allegedly occurred.”
Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill said he couldn’t comment on the specific incident but said precinct election officials go through a two-hour training before every election. They are told there is no electioneering involved and if there are any questions about candidates or public measures they are not allowed to answer.
Gill said he is aware of the incident and doesn’t deny a complaint was filed. In the past, he said, they have had to remove precinct election officials when engaging in that kind of activity.
If a voter feels it is wrong, Gill suggested filing a complaint with the sheriff or county attorney.

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