November 8 General Election gives voters opportunity to select federal, state, local governmental leaders, make decision on proposed hospital conversion
Tuesday, November 8 is scheduled as the 2022 General Election to determine which candidates will be elected by voters to leadership positions at the national, state and local levels of government, as well as to allow residents an opportunity to express their choice on a couple non-candidate matters featured on this year’s election ballot. A Notice of Election with a listing of candidates, polling sites and other pertinent local election information was printed on Page 28 of the October 19 print edition and e-edition of The Standard. All 10 in-person polling sites throughout Allamakee County will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. the day of the election. All 10 polling sites are accessible to persons with disabilities. Sample ballots from each polling site for this year’s election may be viewed at the election website: https://allamakeecountyelections.iowa.gov/.
ABSENTEE VOTING IN PERSON
In-person absentee voting for this year’s election can be done at the Allamakee County Auditor’s Office at the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon through 4 p.m. Monday, November 7, the day before this year’s election. Regular open hours for the Auditor’s Office are Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Allamakee County Auditor’s Office will also be open for in-person absentee voting this Saturday, November 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Standard offered candidate questionnaires in multi-candidate contested races in each of the last two editions of its publication. The first installment of that series of questions asked and each candidate’s responses to those questions was published in the October 19 edition of The Standard, with the final installment involving the race for Iowa Governor printing in the October 26 edition.
ON THE BALLOT
The ballot for this year’s General Election (also referred to as a mid-term election because it takes place two years into the four-year term of the U.S. President) has a number of federal, state and local offices up for election, in addition to a pair of non-candidate items with state and more local impact that require a “yes” or “no” decision. All of the contested candidate races are taking place at the federal and state levels of government, where there are more candidates listed than what is indicated to vote for on the ballot.
FEDERAL RACES
Two races at the federal level that will appear on all Allamakee County ballots involve the U.S. Senate and District 2 of the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican incumbent Charles Grassley is being challenged by Democrat Michael Franken in that Senate race, and incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson is being challenged by Democrat Liz Mathis in that U.S. Representative District 2 race.
STATE RACES
The most local race on the election ballot at the State level of government will be in District 64 of the Iowa House of Representatives, which covers all of Allamakee and Clayton Counties and was previously named District 56 until recent redistricting that followed the 2020 Census. In that race, incumbent Republican Anne Osmundson is being challenged by Democrat Brian Bruening.
The highest office in State government is also on this year’s ballot, the race for Iowa Governor. In that race, the Republican incumbent pair of Kim Reynolds and Adam Gregg are squaring off against Democrat challengers Deidre DeJear and Eric Van Lancker, as well as against the Libertarian Party duo of Rick Stewart and Marco Battaglia.
Five State of Iowa offices are also up for re-election this year, with a mixture of Democrat and Republican incumbents being challenged by a candidate from the other party. In two of those races, Republican incumbent Paul Pate is being challenged by Democrat Joel Miller for the Secretary of State office, and Republican incumbent Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is being challenged by Democrat John Norwood.
Three other State of Iowa offices have Democrat incumbents squaring off against Republican challengers. Rob Sand is being challenged by Todd Halbur for the State Auditor’s office, Treasurer of State Michael Fitzgerald will face a challenge from Roby Smith, and Attorney General Tom Miller will face a similar scenario against challenger Brenna Bird.
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY OFFICES
There will also be four Allamakee County offices on this year’s General Election ballot, although none of them feature contested races, as all of them have the same number of declared candidates as there are selections to make on this year’s ballot. Republican incumbents Jennifer O’Neill and Anthony Gericke will be seeking re-election unopposed to their respective offices of County Treasurer and County Attorney, and Republican Karen Mathis is also running unopposed for the office of County Recorder, seeking to replace retiring County Recorder Deb Winke.
Even though there are two candidates listed for the County Board of Supervisors ballot item - Democrat Dan Byrnes and Republican Dennis Keatley, that is the same number of seats that are up for election on the board this year. Incumbent Dan Byrnes is seeking re-election to the board seat he has occupied since 2014, and the other seat up for election on the board is the one that has been occupied by Republican Larry Schellhammer, who is not seeking re-election after serving 12 years on the board. Although Schellhammer was on the ballot for the June Primary election - and nominated in that Primary, along with Keatley, for the General Election by the Republican party, he has since decided to withdraw from the race. Keatley remains with Byrnes on the General Election ballot in pursuit of those two Board of Supervisors seats.
There will also be a couple non-partisan Allamakee County ballot items that have the same number of or fewer names than positions to fill. Two candidates are seeking to fill two seats on the Allamakee County Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and there are four candidates listed for five seats on the Allamakee County Agricultural Extension Council.
There will also be a number of Township Trustee and Township Clerk offices to vote for on the respective ballots of each township in Allamakee County. Every ballot in Allamakee County will also have three judge retention selections to make as well.
OTHER BALLOT ITEMS
In addition to political offices on this year’s General Election ballot, Allamakee County voters will also note two other ballot items not pertaining to electing of candidates, both of them requiring a “Yes” or “No” vote and a simple majority to pass. Both of those items are listed on the back of the November 8 General Election ballot.
In one of those items, an amendment to the Iowa Constitution will be on the ballot asking voters if the State of Iowa should recognize the right to bear arms as a fundamental individual right. The amendment also seeks to require strict scrutiny for any alleged violations of the right brought before a court of law.
The other non-candidate item on the ballot will be the conversion of Veterans Memorial Hospital from City of Waukon ownership to Allamakee County ownership. Several informational meetings regarding that conversion remain scheduled for this week, including Tuesday, November 1 in Postville, and Wednesday, November 2 and Thursday, November 3, both in Waukon. Additional information about those meetings and the proposed conversion can be found on Page 4 in this week’s edition of The Standard.
Although utilizing a single vote from each of Allamakee County’s eligible voters on the single question, the conversion ballot item for Veterans Memorial Hospital will actually require two different approvals from those single votes in order to pass. The vote must pass by the simple majority (50% + 1) among City of Waukon voters in order for the City to be able to relinquish ownership of the hospital, and the vote must also pass by simple majority among all Allamakee County voters (which City of Waukon voters will be counted in as well) in order for the County to gain ownership of the hospital.
Those who have election questions should call the Allamakee County Auditor’s office at 563-568-3522.
