County Auditor/Recorder’s office preparing for Nov. 5 election
Preparations are underway for the Nov. 5 election, and Marshall County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson is working to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Testing of election machines takes place in all 99 Iowa Counties as a way to safeguard the election. Marshall County’s will be tested on Oct. 14, and Benson is inviting the public to watch.
“Every machine that is used will go through the process to ensure ballots are read correctly,” she said. “This assures the machine is reading everything properly and we are getting proper results.”
There are 11 Marshall County machines, one at every polling location, which will be tested at the Election Center, located at 107 S. First Ave. at 1 p.m. Benson would also like to add additional machines to test, in case something happens to one of the originals.
“Things can happen, and I want some extra to deploy,” she said. “Someone could trip and drop their cup of coffee into the machine, and there is a computer chip in there. Who knows? It will be nice to have some extras.”
Due to Nov. 5 being a presidential election, there are a surprising number of test ballots to run through. Members of the public will also be given the opportunity to try out one of the tablet machines.
“I really like them,” Benson said. “It’s a faster way to vote, rather than filling in the ovals, especially on long ballots like this one.”
Benson stressed the tablet machines are not connected to the internet, despite the belief held by some people. She said the tablet will feed a person’s ballot into the election machine, similar to the way paper ballots are placed in the machine after votes are marked.
Election machine tests are not only conducted before presidential elections. Benson said they take place before every single election in Marshall County.
Election concerns
Having gone through the testing and election process many times, Benson is very proud of the way elections are run in Iowa. Some of the concerns and problems in other states are not present here.
For example, she said the Dominion machines, which are rumored to have been particularly vulnerable to hacking and errors, are not used anywhere in the state. In Marshall County, the Unisyn machines are utilized. Former President Donald Trump pushed the Dominion claims and contended that the machines deleted millions of votes for him in the 2020 election, which he lost to current President Joe Biden.
“Dominion is not used in Iowa,” Benson said. “I feel good about the way we run elections, and if there are questions, they are answered quickly.”
The concern about a lack of poll watchers has been expressed. She said they also allow people to watch the polls on Election Day, but they must get registered. People who wish to become poll watchers can obtain a registration form from the Iowa Secretary of State website, sos.iowa.gov/elections/candidates/pollwatchers.html. There is a limit on the number of poll watchers at each location on Election Day — three by each party with candidates on the ballot, one for each non-political party organization, one appointed by a candidate on the ballot and three for public measures.
There are also rules poll watchers must abide by. They are only there to observe and cannot interfere. If there is a problem, the poll watcher must report it to Benson. They may not handle ballots, compare signatures, inspect identifying documents, engage in arguments with other poll watchers, solicit votes or offer advice to voters. Poll watchers are not allowed to wear clothing or any items supporting candidates.
“They also need to stay out of the way, and some of the polling locations are crowded,” Benson said. “We always try to make everyone comfortable, which is easy with the small town atmosphere. We are kind to others.”
She urged residents to call the election at 641-754-6302 if they hear of something odd happening in connection to the Nov. 5 election.
“If one person hears something, more people are hearing it too, and I want to get the correct information out,” Benson said.
MARSHALL COUNTY POLLING LOCATIONS:
Marshalltown:
• Marshalltown Public Library, 105 Boone St.;
• Marshalltown Community College Administration Building, 3702 S. Center St.;
• Iowa Veterans Home Malloy Hall LRC, 1301 Summit St.;
• Our Savior Lutheran Church, 3001 S. Sixth St.;
Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1600 S. Center St.
Other county locations:
• Orphan Grain Train, 302 Bevins St., Clemons;
• Green Mountain Community Park Building, 111 Woolston St., Green Mountain;
• LeGrand Community Building, 206 N. Vine St., Le Grand;
• Liscomb Community Building, 114 Main St., Liscomb;
• Melbourne Recreational Center, 613 Main St., Melbourne;
• State Center City Hall, 118 E. Main St., State Center.
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Contact Lana Bradstream
at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or
lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.