T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Dozens of “I voted” stickers sit on a table at the Marshall County Election Center. The stickers for the June 2 primary election are busier than the previous standard stickers, as they also mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

The primary election is on Tuesday, just five days away, and Marshall County voters have already been casting their ballots.

According to Marshall County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson and Assistant Auditor/Recorder Jessie Chizek, 719 residents have either submitted early ballots or requested them, and 604 have been received.

“I feel pretty good about those numbers,” Benson said. “That’s great.”

Chizek added that 90 of those votes came from residents at the Iowa Veterans Home, and they are waiting for 115 mailed ballots to be returned.

“We need the ballots by 8 p.m. on Tuesday,” Benson said.

To ensure the mailed ballots get to the auditor/recorder’s office in time, Chizek said people should forgo dropping them in the mail.

“If people still have their ballot on Saturday, do not put it in the mail because it will not get to us in time,” she said. “I wouldn’t even chance Friday. If you still have your ballot at home, just drop it off.”

Instead of a mailbox, there is a slot leading to a drop box on the Marshall County Election Center building. Chizek said election workers check the drop box four times each day.

“It’s inside the building and inside a locked box,” she said. “There’s 24/7 surveillance on it, too. So, if someone tries to tamper with anything, we will know who it is going to be.”

If any residents are concerned about the security of the election, there is no need as both Benson and Chizek said there have been no issues. A common election security concern people in the country have is whether or not Dominion Voting Systems machines are used. The concern is based on unfounded rumors that the machines either deleted votes for then President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, or switched votes to challenger Joe Biden.

Dominion was purchased in 2025 and now goes by the name Liberty Vote. Benson said that in Marshall County, her office uses Unisyn voting machines through RBM Voting.

“I really like RBM. They are very, very good,” she said. “Now we have our new tabulators which are much faster than the old ones.”

Chizek said that thus far the number of ballots submitted is comparable to previous midterm primary elections. Benson is expecting this primary to possibly carry a greater number of Marshall County voters.

“There are more open seats,” she said. “The governor’s seat, the national Senate seat is open. I think that just makes for more voters coming in. . . . When you’ve got these kinds of races, I think you get more people coming in. It’s important to note this is a nomination process for the November election. People have to select a party, and it doesn’t have to be the party you normally do. It’s whoever you want to vote for. You need to look at the two ballots.”

Benson said independent voters can switch to either the Democratic or Republican party specifically to cast a ballot for whomever they want to see on the general election ballot. For example, a voter can switch to Republican in order to cast a vote for one of the five gubernatorial candidates — Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Eddie Andrews or Brad Sherman. Chizek added that the switch cannot take place at the polls, and Benson agreed.

“It’s just another thing to get lost or mixed up,” she said. “It’s recommended not to accept just another piece of paper at the polls.”

A voter can then switch back to independent two weeks after the primary election.

The two week period is to make sure voter credits are balanced. Chizek said that if a voter switches back to independent or the opposite party the next day, she is unable to properly balance.

According to Benson, there is already a balance of voters in Marshall County with roughly one-third registered Republicans, one-third Democrats and one-third as independents.

“We’ve got a third of the residents without a party,” she said. “If they want to vote [on Tuesday], they’re going to have to choose one party to get a ballot.”

Benson is expecting Friday and Monday to be busy with early voters wanting to come in and help choose the nominees for their political party. She said the election center will be open on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We have to be open eight hours and are meeting that requirement,” she said.

ELECTION CENTER INFO:

Name: Marshall County Election Center

Address: 107 S. First Ave.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.