The Republican candidate for Secretary of State says he will not be voting by absentee ballot, and Mike Hartwig says if he’s elected, he’ll crack down on the use of early voting. Hartwig says Iowa law says absentee ballots are only to be used when someone “expects to be gone” on Election Day.Hartwig says unfortunately, both political parties are giving out absentee ballot request forms out “like candy” and it makes him uncomfortable.Hartwig says there’s something inherently American about going to the polling site and casting a ballot on Election Day. Hartwig has voted absentee, but he says it was just for convenience. Hartwig says after much thought, he’s decided voting early has lots of pitfalls. He says candidates die, scandals happen at the last minute, and people who vote early aren’t voting from the same perspective of others.Iowans may use an absentee ballot to vote as early as September 26th. Iowa’s Secretary of State serves as the State Commissioner of Elections, and the current officeholder, Democrat Chet Culver, has taken steps to expand early and absentee voting programs.
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