1 in 4 Already Voted in Story County

Almost 25 percent of registered voters in Story County have already voted, according to a count taken Tuesday morning.

About 20,100 absentee ballots have been requested and the office has received 16,100 as of the morning of Oct. 30, that's more absentee or early ballots than in the election of 2008. About 68,000 people are registered to vote in the county.

Dani Dunham, Story County deputy auditor of elections, said she doesn't know if that means county officials can expect a greater number of total voters in the Nov. 6 election.

“One thing we do know is that absentee ballots (and requests for them) are on the rise from election to election,” Dunham said.

In 2008, for example about 16,670 ballots were requested and 15,790 were filed.

According to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office a total of 644,190 absentee ballots have been requested and 497,725 had been returned in Iowa as of Monday.

Here in Ames and across the state the Obama Campaign for America, Iowa has made a strong push for early voting and hosted a number of celebrity appearances including Glee Stars in Cedar Falls, Bon Jovi in Iowa City and Des Moines and Bruce Springsteen, Justin Long and Seth MacFarlane from Family Guy here in Ames. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have also made recent appearances in the state. And Vice President Joe Biden will campaign in Muscatine and Fort Dodge Thursday and also remind voters about early voting opportunities.

The visits and media attention seems to have paid off so far, Iowa Democrats have cast more ballots in 2008 than 2012, according to a recent report from Obama for America State Director Brad Anderson. They claimed an early lead (164,000 to 109,000) statewide when comparing ballots cast by Republicans in a report released by the campaign last week.

As of Monday, 220,000 Democrats have cast a ballot compared to 160,000 Republicans in the state.

That trend isn't seen in the 4^th District, of which Ames is a part, where 143,497 ballots have been requested and 111,804 have been returned as of Monday, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office.

Republicans have returned about 44,000 ballots, Democrats have returned about 43,000 ballots and about 25,000 Independents have already cast a ballot in the 4^th District. Democrats lead in ballots cast in every other Congressional district however.

The absentee numbers include ballots cast early at satellite and early voting locations where voters can register and cast a ballot.

In Story County, people can vote early daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 5 and at the Story County Auditor's Office in Nevada and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ames Public Library Saturday Nov. 3.

The Story County Auditor's Office will also be open for early voting and voter registration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The Story County Auditor’s Office is located at 900 6^th Street, Nevada.