***Rumors are swirling Iowa about polling location closures and changes. We’ve contacted the county auditors in Iowa to find out what is actually happening in their county.***
Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer is eager for Tuesday. Beyer told The Iowa Standard last week that the “light at the end of this long tunnel gets brighter every day” as the Hawkeye State — and America — moves closer toward election day.
Allamakee County will have eight polling places open this year compared to 11 in a typical year. The three in Waukon will be combined to one while the two in Postville will be combined to one as well.
The county hasn’t made any changes to polling locations in the final week of the election. Beyer said polling places were determined a couple of months ago, but there are still some unsure where to vote.
“Not everyone reads the newspapers or Facebook or hears the audio,” she said.
Beyer has asked the radio to run the audio more because some voters are still unaware even after she had articles published in local newspapers and performed the “required by law” publication of a sample ballot as well as notice of election.
“We have people voting at this election who have never voted or haven’t voted for many years,” she said. “So that may be the reason for some of the questions.”
Changes to the traditional polling places have happened due to a struggle to find poll workers. Beyer said the typical poll worker’s age is 65 or over.
“This is a high-risk age group for COVID-19,” she said. “We have many new poll workers this election who have never worked before but want to make sure people have the opportunity to vote on election day, so they are stepping up. Any election couldn’t happen without these willing individuals who work the polls. Thank a poll worker when you go vote!”
Voters can find their polling place at this website.
Iowans can sign up to be poll workers here.
