Polls will open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for the runoff election for mayor of Cedar Rapids. The mayor’s race will be the only contest on the ballot, and the only choices listed with be the two candidates who received the highest totals in the Nov. 2 election, Amara Andrews and Tiffany O’Donnell. Since neither candidate received a majority of the vote in that election, the race automatically moved to a runoff.
Voters will cast their ballots at their regular voting locations. Anyone uncertain of where to vote can use the Linn County Auditor’s Office’s online look-up tool, or call the office at 319-892-5300.
You will need to present ID to vote, and according to the Iowa Secretary of State, only the following forms of identification are acceptable.
• Iowa Voter Identification Card
• Iowa Driver’s License
• Iowa Non-Operator ID
• U.S. Military ID or Veteran ID
• U.S. Passport
• Tribal ID Card/Document
If you have moved since the last time you voted, and your ID does not have your current address, you will need to provide proof of your current residence. According to the Secretary of State, the following forms of proof of residence are acceptable.
• Residential lease
• Utility bill, including a cell phone bill
• Bank statement
• Paycheck
• Government check
• Other government document
• Property tax statement
Same-day voter registration is still available. Anyone needing to register to vote on Tuesday can do so using the types of ID listed above.
New restrictions on voting Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law earlier this year changed the deadline for absentee ballots to be received at the auditor’s office in order to be considered valid. Previously, as long as an absentee ballot was postmarked by Election Day, and received by the county auditor’s office by the Monday following the election, it could be counted. Now, only absentee ballots received in the auditor’s office before 8 p.m. on Election Day can be counted. So, if you are still in possession of an absentee ballot, do not mail it.
Absentee ballots can be deposited in the auditor’s designated dropboxes, and will be counted as long as they have been deposited by the time polls close. As part of the new restrictions on voting, auditors are only allowed to have one dropbox.
The dropbox in Linn County is at 823 3rd St SW, Cedar Rapids, near the Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center.
The new restrictions Reynolds signed also limit who can drop off an absentee ballot. Besides the voter who filled out the ballot, only a member of that person’s immediate family, a member of their household or an authorized election official can deliver the sealed ballot envelope to a dropbox.
A voter with an absentee ballot can also bring it to their normal polling place and hand it in to election officials, before casting a vote like other Election Day voters.
Just as they did in the Nov. 2 election, polls will close Tuesday at 8 p.m. That is another change that included in the package of election restrictions Reynolds signed in March. Previously, Iowans had until 9 p.m. on Election Day to vote.
