Supervisors consider voting changes, five-year road plan

The Grundy County Board of Supervisors discussed a proposed change in absentee ballot voting due to a hotly contested State House race and the five-year road construction plan during Tuesday morning’s regular meeting.
           
As County Auditor Rhonda Deters explained, the race between Democratic challenger Kayla Koether and Republican incumbent Michael Bergan in House District 55 (which covers Decorah and surrounding areas in far northeast Iowa) remains incredibly controversial because Bergan won by nine votes after 29 absentee ballots were not counted due to the lack of a legible postmark.
           
To remedy the situation, Winneshiek County has proposed a “sure count deadline” stipulating that ballots must arrive at the auditor’s office by the end of Election Day to be counted, and Deters conveyed her support for that plan. She added, however, that she did not believe her state association would reach a consensus anytime soon.
           
In Grundy County, less than 10 absentee ballots arrived at the auditor’s office after Election Day during the 2016 cycle, so it did not have any tangible effect on the ultimate outcomes. Deters commented that for those voters whose ballots aren’t counted, it’s still a big deal to them. 
 
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