WORTHINGTON -- All eyes may be on Tuesday's voter turnout, but as of Thursday afternoon, roughly 3,800 absentee ballots have already been returned in area counties -- and some local auditors say voting absentee is a growing trend.
"Over the last two elections the trend for absentee ballots has been up every election. It's becoming a very popular way to vote," said Jan Johnson, the auditor-treasurer for Cottonwood County where roughly 400 absentee ballots have been filed. "It's just so much easier, especially for the older people so they don't have to stand in line. ... For the young kids they're just too busy, so it works out better for them."
In Jackson County, 480 absentee ballots have been returned so far, surpassing the roughly 450 total absentee ballots filed in the 2004 general election.
Auditors in other counties, however, report the number of ballots returned is the same or slightly lower than in past elections.
In Lyon County, Iowa, for example, the number of absentee ballots solicited is down -- 1,070 this year compared with 1,200 four years ago, but the county still leads the area in number of absentee ballots filed so far -- nearly 800.
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Lyon County has 8,659 registered voters, about 1,200 of whom voted in 2004, and election officials are expecting a similar turn out this year.
Auditors in Pipestone County and Osceola County, Iowa, also said the number of absentee ballots being returned was "pretty average," and they're also anticipating a somewhat average turnout at the polls.
"We always order a sufficient amount of ballots. We may up them a little bit this year. Pipestone County usually has in the 80s (percent) voter turnout, and that's what they're anticipating. It'd be nice if we could get in the 90s, that would be a great achievement," said Pipestone Auditor Joyce Steinhoff.
In Nobles County, about 504 of the 701 absentee ballots solicited have been returned, but Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Balster said it's not over yet.
"We're very busy with people coming in to vote absentee," she said. "We have another four days here, so we expect them all back."
Balster also expects a large voter turnout on Election Day, and has ordered 30 percent more ballots than were ordered for the 2004 election. Election judges in Nobles County stocked 1,200 ballots in November 2004, a little more than the voter turnout of 9,399 people. This year Balster ordered 1,600 ballots, despite her predictions that voter turnout will hover around the county's usual 90 percent and despite having 220 fewer registered voters than in 2004.
"It's kind of a shot in the dark. You just don't want to run out of ballots -- that's the worst case scenario," she said, "I think people that haven't voted in the past are going to register and vote this year."
