Election day in Iowa didn’t come without its issues. Guthrie County found itself with a line of people and no ballots to allow people to vote. Guthrie County, however, was able to improvise with a device it had purchased called the Freedom Vote Tablet, which allows individuals to vote without using traditional ballots and to vote by touch-screen.
While Union County doesn’t have a Freedom Vote Tablet there are systems in place should any precinct run out of ballots. Union County has an OpenElect Voting Interface or OVI machine. Sandy Hysell, Union County auditor, said these touch-screen devices are “for the hearing and visually impaired. It prints out a ballot that can go through the tabulator (OVO machine).”
Hysell said Union County precincts have run out of ballots in the past “and the response has been relaxed showing the voters that they can cast their ballots by using the OVI machines or they may wait till my office delivers more ballots.” Hysell also said that voters like the OVI machine and have no issues using it.
Another option that Union County precincts have, should they run out of ballots, is to print ballots. Hysell explained that the auditor’s office can print ballots on demand. “We would print some ballots to take to the precincts also and of course keep track of the count of extra ballots delivered to the precinct,” said Hysell.
Precincts in Iowa have a plan in place to solve problems if and when they arise, however rare. Issues such as long lines, broken voting equipment, changing laws regarding voter registration, among others occur.
Poll workers are trained to open and shut down the polls, check in regular and new voters, update addresses and names, direct voters to the right precinct, show voters how to do a provisional ballot and when necessary and other what if’s such as running out of ballots.
If people need help with the voting process or have questions about ballots and voting they can contact the Auditor's office by phone at 641-782-1701, go to the website www.unioncountyiowa.org, or email Sandy Hysell directly at shysell@unioncounty.org.