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2004 US Presidential Election
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November 02, 2004
Iowa | Mad Crush

Posted by Buster - InMuscatine.com

From the Des Moines Register :

County auditors’ offices in Iowa were under siege Monday, reporting lines of voters at the counters casting absentee ballots and calling on the phones with questions.

“It’s chaos,” said Linda Demry, the Appanoose County auditor. “People will come in and say, ‘I’ve never voted before - can you help me?’ “

In Lee County, Auditor Anne Pedersen said she’s never seen anything like it in her 21 years in office. On Monday, as soon as the auditor’s doors opened, the phones started ringing and residents arrived to cast absentee ballots.

On both sides, voters “have a very emotional feeling about their candidate,” Pedersen said. “They want to make sure their votes get cast and counted.”

Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver predicted 1.4 million Iowans out of the 2.1 million registered will cast votes by the time polls close.

He urged Iowans to make sure they are voting in their correct precincts to lessen problems with provisional ballots, and said first-time voters may be asked for identification.

Anyone who is still in line by 9 p.m. is entitled to vote, Culver said, no matter how long it takes.

As of Oct. 25, the secretary of state’s office reported 287,037 absentee ballots returned out of 428,972 requested.



Posted by Buster at November 2, 2004 09:56 AM | TrackBack
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