Early Voting Under Way in West Des Moines

Several satellite voting locations, including one in West Des Moines, opened Monday. and will remain open through Oct. 27 so residents can vote in advance of the Nov. 6 election, Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said.

The local satellite location is at the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway. West Des Moines residents living in Precincts 111 through 318 vote at this location.

Th library and other satellite locations will be open Monday - Thursday 1-7 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Find other satellite locations in Polk County.

Dallas County satellite locations include:

• Edgewater Wesley Life Community, 9225 Cascade Ave., West Des Moines – Oct. 15 - 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Oct. 22 - 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• St. Francis of Assisi Church, 7075 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines  – Oct. 19 - 12 - 6 p.m.; Oct. 26 - 12 - 6 p.m.

Voting continues through 5 p.m. on Nov. 5 at the Polk County Election Office, 120 Second Ave., Suite A, Des Moines. Hours 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.

Absentee ballot requests must be received on or before 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2012. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by midnight on Nov. 5 and received by noon on the Tuesday after the election – on Nov. 13 – for the votes to count.

Absentee voting also continues to be important, with an increasing number of Iowans requesting ballots. So far, 309,097 ballots have been requested, with 110,675 of them already returned. As of Thursday:

• Democrats requested 160,285 ballots and returned 68,665
• Republicans requested 82,545 ballots and returned 22,009
• No-party voters requested 66,011 ballots and returned 19,922
• Other party voters requested 256 ballots and returned 79