Primary Election Prep

June 4 is approaching quickly and for most in Franklin County and Iowa, that means Primary Election Day. For the staff in our office, it’s like Christmas Day. The culmination of months of work and preparation … three months to be exact.

The work that goes into preparing for an election is endless and has to be accomplished amongst all of our daily job responsibilities. We started preparing for this year’s Primary Election in March! We spend time establishing Precinct Election Official teams for Election Day (bi-partisan of course), preparing their training and assistance materials. We receive candidate paperwork in our office, prepare the ballots, proof the ballots, order the ballots, program the machines that read the ballots, focus on ballot & precinct security, take care of required legal notices pertaining to the election, test the machines that are used in the election, train the Precinct Election Officials, conduct in-person absentee voting, as well as mail absentee ballots! The prep work is endless!

Everyone in our office is involved in elections in some way, shape, or form. We work as

a well-oiled machine with each team member having their jobs and responsibilities, which ensures the Election goes off without a hitch..or at least we hope & pray!

One of the other important responsibilities we have is to ensure that all of our polling places are ADA Compliant. This is to make sure that everyone, regardless of their disability, is able to vote at the polls, on Election Day. Myself and one other staff person complete an evaluation annually to make sure all the ADA requirements are met or that we can easily make accommodations. As you can imagine, finding a polling place in each precinct that is 100% compliant just doesn’t happen, but the facilities that we work with are fantastic at helping us out and working with the requirements.

Needless to say, things in our office are incredibly busy right now. So, what are the important things that you need to know for the Primary Election?! In-Person Absentee Voting is currently going on at the Auditor’s Office. Stop by anytime during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-4:00PM) and cast your ballot! To help accommodate folks that work during our normal business hours, we will also be open Saturday, June 1 from 7:30AM-3:30PM so you can vote. Additionally, if you want to vote in-person at the Courthouse ahead of Election Day and getting in and out of a vehicle is difficult, we offer Curbside Voting. Just give us a call and we’ll be happy to bring a ballot to your car!

As always, if you have questions about the Primary Election or Elections in general, I always welcome questions and conversation! Until next time….

Katy Flint can be contacted at KFlint@co.franklin.ia.us.