Early voting heavy

Absentee ballot numbers are strong in Montgomery County.
According to Auditor Stephanie Burke, many of the absentee ballots are already in, though there are still some left to be counted.
“We’ve had 1,801 ballots requested. Of that number, we’ve received 1,687. That leaves 114 ballots still out there, needing to be postmarked by Monday, Nov. 7, or delivered to our office on Tuesday, Nov. 8,” Burke said.
The ballot numbers, Burke said Friday, are similar to the number of ballots cast by absentee voters in the election four years ago.
“In 2012, we had about 1,800 requests. That year, Joni Ernst was running for state senate. I still think we’ll at least reach that number, and maybe go over that total. We’ve had daily absentee votes at the counter, so there’s a good chance we’ll go over.”
One of the biggest reasons for the pick-up, Burke said, is that people have likely made their final decisions by now.
“I think people were undecided, but as it’s gotten closer, they want to get their vote in.  We have no local contested races in the county, and other counties have more absentee ballot requests, but that may be due to the fact that there are contested races in those counties,” commented Burke.
The Montgomery County Auditor’s office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for absentee voting Saturday, Nov. 5. The auditor’s office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7 for absentee voting. Voters have until 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8 to deliver their absentee ballots in person to the auditor’s office.