Hunter
08/17/20
Auditor’s offices in Linn and Johnson County are covering their bases when it comes to the absentee ballot requests they are sending out.
The Iowa City Press Citizen reports that they’re keeping tabs on those forms, due to lawsuits pending against them from the Trump campaign claiming that their actions are illegal and such request forms are invalid.
The forms have pre-populated information based on their databases, and the suit says it’s more information than was authorized by the state’s Legislative Council to include on forms being sent to voters in the state. The ones sent from Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office only include the election date and the fact that the ballot is for a general election.
Voters getting the ballot requests from Linn and Johnson County Auditor’s offices are being directed to double-check the information and then send the form in. Ballots are to be sent out in early October.
The Press-Citizen says that in Johnson County, they’ve already processed about 10,000 requests and have over 3000 waiting; in Linn County, they’ve already received about 40,000 forms.
Both offices are keeping forms they sent out and received separate from forms sent to voters from other sources. That would make it easier for them to invalidate if the lawsuits against them are successful.