A proposed bill in the Iowa Senate would eliminate absentee ballots mailed into county auditors from being counted if they don’t arrive before the polls close on election day.
The bill advanced out of a subcommittee last week before the “funnel deadline” and is of concern to Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill:
OC………….no longer be counted. :23
Gill says Woodbury County pioneered using an electronic bar code in the state for absentee ballots, so it is easy to determine if they were mailed on time in our county:
OC…………to delivery date. ;22
It’s the second bill to be proposed out of confusion caused last November when the three counties in Iowa House District 55 each handled absentee ballots delivered after Election Day differently.
Gill says an Iowa House bill would provide a solution which would require each county auditor to pay for a U.S. Postal Service marking system that tracks when mail is sent and received.
OC………..several Iowa voters. :20
Gill says Woodbury County paid 2-cents per absentee ballot to track those ballots in the 2018 election.
The Secretary of State’s office estimates it would cost about 13-thousand dollars for the 2020 election if each county auditor uses the Postal Service tracking system.
