Voting

From Rofflehaus

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Voting is often considered the most fundamental civil liberty. If you want a government for the people, then it makes sense that periodically a government of the people must be selected by the people, right? Of course, these days to elect a government, you need to vote not only on seats like "Governor" and "Sheriff," which are interesting and spark many conversations, but you also need to vote on such critical seats as "Soil/Water Conservation District Supervisor" or "DMACC County Representative." Which is probably why so few people bother to show up at the polls on Election Day.

Still, voting is something all US citizens are called on to do once or twice a year so you might as well just suck it up and go.

Contents 1 Registering 2 Absentee Voting 3 Voting 4 See also

[edit] Registering

If you haven't registered to vote before, or you are registered in a different county from where you currently live, then you will need to fill out a registration form. Link to form [1]

In Story County, you used to need to do this at least ten days before the election in which you wish to vote. On April 3rd, 2007, Governor Chet Culver signed House File 653. (Press release [2])

This new law will allow you to register to vote on the same day as the election.

[edit] Absentee Voting

If you want to vote in your old place of residence you will need to find out the forms you need from your county. You can also absentee vote in Ames so you don't have to wait in lines during the polls.

Link to Absentee Voting Form [3]

[edit] Voting

Make sure to find out where your polling place is before you leave to vote and leave plenty of time to account for long lines. This information is listed on your voter registration card, but should you ever lose that Story County has a link for regular elections [4] and for school board elections.[5]

Polls in Ames are typically open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Election Day. The County Auditor will also set up "satellite voting" booths a week or two before the election, often at the Parks and City Libraries, for those who just want to get it out of the way.

Story County uses optical-scan voting equipment. When you show up to vote, they'll give you a ballot and point you to a booth with a black marking pen. The ballot is very similar to a Scantron sheet--just mark your choices with the pen provided and drop your completed ballot in a slot. If you know who you want to vote for beforehand, the whole process takes less than five minutes.

[edit] See also

For information on your representatives and upcoming elections in Ames, please refer to the following articles:

• Election
• Government