Tama County Auditor Laura Kopsa, joins Secretary of State Paul Pate and auditors across Iowa in encouraging voters to cast absentee ballots by mail in the upcoming June 2 primary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, voting by mail is the safest option. Secretary Pate is sending absentee ballot request forms to every active registered voter in the state. The forms should arrive in your mailbox this week and will include pre-paid postage for returning them to the Tama County Auditor’s office. Once voters receive their absentee ballot request form in the mail, they should fill out and mail it promptly. Iowans can also download the request form directly from the Iowa Secretary of State website, VoterReady.Iowa.gov. or the Tama County Auditor’s website, tamacounty.org Requests must be received by your county auditor’s office by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22. “We want all eligible citizens to participate in our elections and casting a ballot by mail is the best method during this pandemic,” Secretary Pate said. “Absentee voting has security measures in place to ensure the integrity of the ballot.” Primary elections are intended for members of the Republican and Democratic parties only. No Party voters who choose to request a party’s ballot will have their voter registration officially changed to that political party. For more information about the June 2 primary, visit VoterReady.Iowa.gov