O’Brien County, Iowa — You can add one more thing that is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the restrictions it has caused. I’m talking about the June 2nd Primary elections. They will be held as scheduled, but they’ll be conducted a little differently than normal.
O’Brien County Auditor Barb Rohwer says the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office is sending absentee ballot requests to every registered voter in the state.
(As above) “We’re really hoping that people do take advantage of that. We’re hoping that we can keep the number of people at the polls down to a very small amount. So, when you see those come out in your mail,(it) looks like it’ll be next week now, fill those out, you need to pick a party either Democrat or Republican on those, and send them back in. The postage is all paid on them. Once we get that request for the absentee ballot we will send that out.”
Once you receive your ballot in the mail, Rohwer says you simply need to fill it out and send it back to her office.
She says due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of polling places in O’Brien County for the Primary will be reduced from nine to just two.
(As above) “One will be for all of the Sheldon wards, and the Carol Floyd precinct. They always had come to the community building in Sheldon to vote. They will be going to the Crossroads Pavilion there in Sheldon to vote. The rest of the county will be coming to Primghar, and that will be here at the Community Building.”
Rohwer tells us the reasoning behind the location change.
(As above) “We felt it would be better at the two community centers because we’ve got parking areas we can see people coming in, unlike where we’re arranged it those normal places. So, better crowd control, better distancing all those things that are an issue right now.”
Rohwer says that if you would like more information, to see a sample ballot for O’Brien County, or to download an Absentee Ballot Request Form, you can visit the O’Brien County website by CLICKING HERE. Or, she says, you can visit the Iowa Secretary of State’s website by CLICKING HERE.
Rohwer says that, although her office is closed, you can call 712-957-3225 for more information.
