Absentee voting starts this week; big numbers expected
“Tomorrow, the bell rings. You can go to most county auditors and start the process and vote tomorrow,” said Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro at a Statehouse news conference Wednesday.
Mauro predicted a general election voter turnout that could reach between 76 percent and 80 percent of Iowa’s 2.1 million registered voters. The record percentage turnout in Iowa was 80.5 percent in 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected president over George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot.
Mauro, a Democrat, said it’s clear there is strong interest in the presidential campaign between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, particularly because there is a lack of an incumbent office-holder.
The overwhelming turnout in January’s Iowa caucuses is also sign that large numbers of Iowans will vote, he said. In addition, Iowans will have same-day voter registration for the first time in a general election, he noted.
