Turnout in elections is always affected by the weather, and eastern Iowa election officials say turn-out in water-logged areas is severely dampened. Tom O’Neill of the Dubuque County Auditor’s office says the rain and flooding are wreaking havoc as many roads are closed.O’Neill, whose own basement was flooding as he left for work this morning, says they had to evacuate one precinct this morning, and things are a bit chaotic.O’Neill says the phones in the Auditor’s Office are ringing off the hook as voters call to ask if they can get to their precincts.O’Neill says an emergency’s been declared in Dubuque County, and folks are being asked to stay off the roads. Across the state in western Iowa’s Sioux County, things are going a bit more smoothly this Primary Day.Sioux County Auditor Dennis Lange voted at eight o’clock this morning, and the volume in the first hour at his precinct indicates turnout will be moderate in his county. Lange says his office, too, has been swamped with phone calls.Lange says there have been a number of calls from folks who’ve moved within the county and are confused about where to vote, and don’t know about the change-of-address forms which must be filled out at their new precinct.
