Early voting in Cedar Rapids runoff election starts Monday

CEDAR RAPIDS - Voting starts Monday for the Cedar Rapids mayoral and District 5 City Council runoff elections.

For mayor, former City Council Mayor Pro Tem Monica Vernon faces attorney Brad Hart. For the District 5 seat, Ashley Vanorny is up against incumbent Justin Shields.

In-person voting begins Monday at the Linn County Auditor's Office, in the Jean Oxley Public Service Center, 935 Second St. SW. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Absentee ballots can be mailed or delivered to the office, but must be postmarked on or before Dec. 4.

All Cedar Rapids polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Dec. 5,

In Cedar Rapids, if a candidate fails to garner more than 50 percent of votes in the general election, the top two vote earners face off in a runoff vote.

On Nov. 7, Vernon, 60, was the top vote earner, with 30.3 percent of votes, while Hart, 61, was the next closest with 20.3 percent.

In the same election, Vanorny, 32, received more than 43 percent of the vote while Shields, 75, got more than 40 percent.

In other council races that night, three newcomers were elected to the eight-member council - Tyler Olson to fill the at-large seat, Dale Todd in District 3 and Marty Hoeger in District 1.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com