contributed photo The Marshall County Auditor’s Office has received just over 1,000 absentee ballot requests for the upcoming primary election.

With primary day just around the corner and a pair of contested Republican primaries unfolding locally, the Marshall County Auditor’s Office has received just over 1,000 requests for absentee ballots thus far.

Jessie Chizek, the assistant/deputy auditor and recorder, said the number isn’t a huge anomaly compared to past years, and presidential elections are still the biggest draw in terms of absentee requests. Of the 1,004 total requests, 538 have come from Republicans, and 466 have come from Democrats. In all, 855 of the ballots have been returned — 393 from Democrats and 462 from Republicans. In the county as a whole, 8,001 voters are currently registered as Republicans, 7,976 are registered as Democrats and 8,387 have no party affiliation.

There is still time to vote early, as the election center at 107 S. First Ave. is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday. A photo ID with a current address is required to vote, and if the ID does not include a voter’s current address, they will need to bring something to prove their residence.

Voters who wish to change parties can do so ahead of time or on the day of the election with a request form, but they can only vote in one of the two major party primaries. On election day Tuesday, voters can cast a ballot at their usual precinct locations within Marshall County. Due to the reconstruction at the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center (MACC), the only changes in Marshalltown are that third ward residents will vote at the YMCA, and the second ward will vote at Miller Middle School.

Reed Riskedahl, the chair of the Marshall County Republicans, said he is proud of the competition at the local level, where four candidates — Evan Folk, Jarret Heil, Carol Hibbs and incumbent Dave Thompson — are seeking two available nominations in the supervisors race, and Deann Tomlinson and Mark Eaton are both seeking to replace Heil as the county treasurer.

“I think there’s gonna be an excellent turnout just based on what we see nationally. Plus, when you have local races, there’s a lot of excitement,” Riskedahl said. “If it ever made you happy to be a leader, this is a great time for that, and when you see good solid people running for good solid offices, it makes you feel that.”

Riskedahl said voters have had several great opportunities to get to know the candidates better through events like the weekly Pachyderm Herd lunches and the recent candidate forum on the MCC campus. From what he has heard, property taxes are a top concern among local constituents, and he expects a strong turnout on primary day in addition to the absentee ballots.

With regard to the supervisor race, Riskedahl said he was aware of some voters switching parties just to cast a ballot, but he believes it has more to do with general frustration with the Democratic Party at the state and national level than anything else. And of course, he sees competition as a net positive in the long run.

“It makes the knife sharper. You can’t be complacent and just do what you do,” he said.

Marshall County Democrats Chairwoman Jeanine Grady said that because none of the local primaries are contested within the party, things have been relatively quiet leading up to election day on June 7. Nonetheless, the three-way U.S. Senate race between Abby Finkenauer, Mike Franken and Glenn Hurst has still garnered plenty of attention across the state.

For more information about voting, visit https://elections.marshallcountyia.gov/ or call the elections center at (641) 754-6302.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.