By Emily Kresse
Early voting in Iowa has been in full swing for nearly a month, and the numbers in Johnson County are beating those in 2008, yet down from 2012.
That is in part because Johnson County has grown in population, said John Deeth, an election technician in the Johnson County Auditor’s Office. County auditors oversee elections, but Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert is on the ballot and therefore not allowed in the ballot room, Deeth said.
Recent allegations of a rigged election by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have caused some to worry, but Deeth said elections in Johnson County are, and always have been, secure.
“We’re just doing our job like we’ve always done our job,” he said. “This year’s no different, except for the allegations.”
Iowans interested in voting early can do so by mail, many counties have arranged satellite voting at accessible locations to “be where the people are,” Deeth said.
Johnson County is prepared for more than 80,000 voters this year, with most voting before Election Day, he said.
So far, there have been satellite locations at the Iowa City Public Library, Old Capitol Town Center, Petersen Residence Hall, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, and the Iowa Memorial Union.
The IMU will continue to be an early voting site through Friday. As of Monday, 1,556 people had taken advantage of satellite voting in the aforementioned locations.
For UI freshman Angela Trible, early voting was a family affair. The pre-med major went to the satellite voting location at Petersen with her older brother on Oct. 21. This is the first election Trible is eligible to vote in, and she said she does not anticipate such a heated race the next time she casts a ballot.
“[This election] is insane,” she said. “I’m sure I won’t have one as controversial in my future.”
The Waukee native said she felt she was making an educated decision and had followed the campaign from watching the debates to talking about it with friends.
Trible, who found early voting convenient, said she especially liked that it encourages people to vote.
UI freshman Darian Thompson also voted in his first election, and he echoed Trible’s belief that having voting in the dorms was handy.
Thompson, who said he caucused for and voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said the issues most important to him when deciding who to vote for were social issues such as LGBT rights and women’s rights, especially equal pay for equal work.
“I actually like [Clinton], I like Bernie more, but I think Hillary has more potential to make changes,” he said, contending that the Vermont senator’s proposals were less likely to be enacted because of how far left they are.
Despite feeling informed about the national candidates, Thompson said he did not anticipate voting for so many different offices, especially the local races.
Iowans who cast their ballots in Johnson County will vote for the president, a U.S. senator, the U.S. representative for Iowa’s 2nd District, state representatives (no Johnson County state senators are up for re-election this year), county positions, Board of Supervisors, Auditor, Sheriff, as well as nonpartisan offices, judicial retention, and a referendum to lower the number of signatures needed for petitions.
UI student Shannon Robinson said early voting was so easy all she had to do was walk downstairs to the Multipurpose Room of her dorm.
Robinson voted for Clinton, although she said she is not the biggest fan of the former secretary of State.
“It’s hard when you’re not satisfied with both, but you have to pick,” she said. “Being a minority, it’s hard to put my faith in Trump; instead, I’m choosing someone who isn’t bringing out pure hatred.”
Robinson hopes more of her peers vote without singularly focusing on their parents’ views.
“We’re still under our parents’ wings, and it’s not the year to do that,” she said. “We need to be informed, we have to go with our own morals and values and really ask, ‘What do I believe in?’ ”
