Iowans who live in another country as well as Iowa soldiers on duty overseas will have an extra month to ask for, receive and return an absentee ballot for this fall’s election. Governor Branstad signed that policy into law…
*
In previous elections, Iowans serving or visiting overseas had 90 days to request a special absentee ballot and return it. The new policy goes into effect July 1st and extends that time period to 120 days. Secretary of State Paul Pate is the commissioner of Iowa elections. He says at any time, the nine-thousand Iowans who are Iowa National Guard soldiers could find themselves on active duty in remote places overseas….
*
The new law also gets rid of a technicality that forced county auditors to toss out some ballots cast from overseas and military voters if another piece of paperwork hadn’t been completed.