Early Voting Ends Tomorrow in Johnston

Johnston residents wanting to take  advantage of early voting in the city only have a few opportunities left.

The satellite early voting site at the Johnston Public Library will close Saturday.

Early voting at the library takes place from:

• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays
• Saturday voting will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27

Eligible voters will be in precincts Johnston 1-6, Johnston 1 (Webster Township), Johnston 3 (Webster Township), Grimes 1-3; Jefferson 1 and Granger 1

Early voting continues through Nov. 5 at the downtown location.

Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald has ramped up staffing levels for early voting in Iowa, the first of the battleground states to cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election.

Early voting at the downtown Des Moines auditor's office continues through Nov. 5.

Early voting is important in Iowa. As of Oct. 19, registered Democrats had requested 224,676 absentee ballots in Iowa, while Republicans had requested 152,877. 

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As of Sept. 4, registered Republicans outnumbered registered Democrats, 620,868 to 602,636, but registered voters who did not declare a party outnumber both with 666,279 voters.

While Democrats have been pushing early voting throughout the summer, the Romney campaign waited to make its push until the ballots actually became available. Real Clear Politics said the first of 10 scheduled mailings on early-voting information hit Republicans’ mailboxes this week.

In Polk County, Fitzgerald said, absentee ballot requests are about double what they were in 2008.

One change this year will be that a registered voter in Polk County may vote at any satellite location, regardless of whether it is in the person’s city of residence, a change that is designed to boost voter participation in the Nov. 6 election.

Hours for in-person voting in the Election Office, located at 120 Second Ave., Suite, A, Des Moines, are:

• Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 27: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 3: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.