ABSENTEE BALLOTS are now available in Black Hawk County for the general election which will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. All polling place locations will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 9:00 p.m.

The courthouse will be open for early voting from Thursday, September 29th through Monday, November 7th. It is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will also be open Saturday, October 29 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Saturday, November 5 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) for voting. The elections office is located on the 2nd floor.

To receive an absentee ballot by mail, voters may submit an Official Absentee Ballot Request Form which can be found at: www.sos.iowa.gov and www.co.black-hawk.ia.us or from the Election Office. A hand-written request can be accepted if it includes the following required information: full name, complete address, date of birth, date or name of election, and the voter’s signature. The deadline for submitting a request form to have an absentee ballot mailed to a voter is Friday, November 4 at 5:00 o’clock p.m.

It is possible to fax your Absentee Ballot Request form; however, the original document must be delivered in person or mailed separately with a postmark on or before Friday, November 4th. The Election Office fax number is (319) 833-3119. Military and overseas voters have expanded options. For more information contact the Election Office at (319) 833-3007 or election@co.black-hawk.ia.us.

If you have been displaced by the flood and are living in temporary housing, you will use your permanent address as your voting address. If you wish to receive an absentee ballot by mail you will list your permanent address as your Iowa residential address and your temporary address as the address to which your ballot should be mailed.

Pre-paid return postage is provided for all ballots returned by mail to the Election Office. A mailed ballot must be postmarked on or before November 7th or it will not be counted. Postmarks are not always affixed by the Post Office, so mail your absentee ballot early enough so that it arrives by Election Day. Even if the ballot is postmarked on time, mailed ballots must also be received in the county auditor’s office by the receipt deadline of Noon, November 14. Ballots received after the receipt deadline cannot be counted.

The Code of Iowa provides that persons who are admitted to a Health Care Facility (HCF) within three days of an election; Saturday, Sunday, Monday (and Election Day) may make a request by telephone to the Election Office and an absentee ballot will be delivered to them. On Election Day the telephone request must be made at least four hours prior to the close of polls. These ballots will be personally delivered to the voter at the HCF by two election officials who will assist the voter in voting (if requested) and return the sealed, voted ballot to the Election Office to be counted on Election Day.

Absentee ballots MAY NOT be turned in at a polling place except to be surrendered and voided, in which case the voter would vote in person at their precinct. Persons who did not receive or have lost their absentee ballot will be provided the option of voting a provisional ballot.

VOTER PRE-REGISTRATION DEADLINES The last day to pre-register at the Election Office for this election is Saturday, October 29, before 5:00 pm. Any new voter, who registers before the deadline, will not be required to show proof of residence and identity. Following the deadline and on Election Day, new voters will be processed using the requirements of Election Day Registration and will be required to provide proof of residence and identity. Regular Election Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION A person who is eligible to register for voting and to vote, may do so on Election Day by appearing in person at the polling place for the precinct in which the individual resides. The voter must complete a voter registration application, make written oath and provide acceptable proof of both identity and residence. The most common example of an acceptable form of identity and residence is an Iowa driver’s license that is not expired and, represents the voter’s address in the precinct on Election Day.

Questions may be directed to the Election’s Office; our telephone number is 833-3007 or our email address is: election@co.black-hawk.ia.us. Our location is 316 E 5 Courthouse Room 210, Waterloo, 50703.

If you are unsure where you will vote November 8th, the following website look-up options are available:

Use the county’s website located at www.co.black-hawk.ia.us. Users may select Links or Real Estate mapping on the home page.

Use the Secretary of State’s website located at: www.sos.iowa.gov Users may select Find my Polling Place to determine their polling place and then select the option to verify where they are registered to vote.