Primaries 2014: Competition, multiple-candidate races bump up early voting

CEDAR RAPIDS — Competitive races, especially for the U.S. House and Senate, appear to be driving up the number of Iowans who will have cast their ballots before polls open today.

The number of absentee ballots sent to voters has increased 12 percent from the 2010 election — the last midterm election that also featured races for governor and U.S. Senate, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's office.

Polls will be open for Election Day voting from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. today. Iowans who have not registered to vote may register at the polls and vote by following the procedures outlined at the Secretary of State's website: http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/edr.html.

To find your polling place, go to http://smgs.us/txw

The combination of primary races 'that are more competitive in 2014 than in 2010, with the U.S. Senate primary and multicandidate primaries in three of the congressional districts' have contributed to the increase in voting by mail, said Sam Roecker, a Democratic operative running 1st District Democrat Dave O'Brien's campaign.

It's not just the competitive nature of the primaries but the possibility of making history, said Brenda Kole, campaign manager for 1st District Democrat Monica Vernon.

'Enthusiasm has been building to get the first woman elected to Congress since early vote began, and it's growing stronger every day,' she said.

In 2010 there was a three-way Democratic U.S. Senate race and Republican contests for governor and in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd U.S. House districts.

This year's contests include the five-way race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, a five-way Democratic race and a three-way Republican contest in Iowa's U.S. House 1st District, a three-way Republican race in the 2nd District and a six-way Republican race in the 3rd.

In 2010, 36,862 ballots were sent to Iowa primary voters and 26,889 ballots — 73 percent — were returned, according to the Secretary of State's office.

As of May 31, that office said, 41,469 ballots have been mailed and 33,753 ballots — 81 percent — have been returned. The return rate likely will increase as ballots postmarked by June 2 and received by county auditors by June 9 will be counted in election results.

In each case, a candidate must obtain at least 35 percent of the vote to win. If not, the nominee will be determined at a nominating convention.

That has campaigns and candidates 'pushing hard to avoid a convention,' especially in the 1st District and the U.S. Senate races, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said.

Democrats, O'Brien's Roecker added, 'have spent a lot of time making early voting a habit for voters. It's easier for voters and it lets campaigns focus on turning out sporadic or first-time voters,' which becomes even more important in a general election.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Danny Carroll wishes early voting were more of a habit for his party. Despite competitive primaries for the Senate seat and in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts, Republicans have returned about 3,000 fewer absentee ballots than Democrats who have no competitive statewide races.

'Obviously, I wish it was higher, but it seems to be the nature of conservatives and Republicans to go to the polls,' Carroll said.

It's not all about the federal offices, however. For example, the four-way Democratic race and two-way Republican race for the Board of Supervisors in Linn County is driving up early voting, Miller said.

In 2010, 1,754 people voted early, according to the Linn County Auditor website. This year, his office mailed a postcard reminder to every household in the county.

'That seems to have prompted more early activity than usual,' Miller said.

His office sent 4,251 voters absentee ballots and so far has received 3,396 votes.

In Johnson County, there are contests for the Democratic nominations for county attorney and Board of Supervisors as well as primary races in two legislative districts. That has produced a slight bump in the number of absentee ballots requested from 2,581 this year compared to 2,494 in 2010.

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