Following a surge of encouragement from various non-governmental organizations to get out the vote, Webster County Auditor Doreen Pliner asks those casting their vote by absentee ballot this year in the general election to fill out just one form when requesting their ballot.

“The auditor’s office has been receiving phone calls from people receiving multiple absentee ballot request forms,” said Pliner.

In addition to the official absentee ballot request form from the Iowa Secretary of State, which was mailed to registered voters after Labor Day, many other political parties and organizations trying to rally the vote have mailed out the same form.

Pliner has a simple ask: only fill out and mail back one of those forms.

“One and done,” Pliner said. “Once you have filled out one form, you do not need to fill out another form. You will receive several more requests over the next weeks (from other organizations.)”

With an unprecedented influx of absentee voting due to COVID-19 concerns, Pliner expects at least half of voters in the November election to cast their vote by mail or drop box.

Absentee voters can track the status of their request form and ballot online. To confirm the auditor’s office has received your request form, go to webstercountyia.gov and click on the Auditor/Commissioner of Elections tab. Once there, click on “TRACK YOUR BALLOT” and enter your name and date of birth to search. There, you can see the date your absentee ballot request form was processed by the auditor, the date the ballot is mailed by the auditor, and the date the completed ballot was received by the auditor.