The city and school election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 2, with polls open locally from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
ocal polling locations include: Mount Vernon City Hall (Mount Vernon North), Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, 212 Seventh St. SE, Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon South), Lisbon City Hall (Franklin Township), and Community Bible Church 940 W. Mount Vernon Rd.,Mount Vernon (Linn Township).
There are seven candidates for three seats on the Lisbon City Council. On the ballot are candidates Brian Lee Courtney, Ricky L. Scott, Michael S. Williams, Douglas D. Kamberling, Mike Winders, Stacey L Hunter and incumbent Nathan Smith.
Candidates for two seats on the Lisbon School Board include Robyn Richey, Mike Winders and incumbent Allan J. Mallie. Niki Davis has declared as a write-in candidate.
Also on the ballot for Lisbon School board voters will be a renewal for the district’s revenue purpose statement. The revenue purpose statement officially sunsets in 2030, and a yes vote extends that revenue purpose statement through 2050. The measure takes a simple majority to pass and does not add a new tax, just allows the district to spend tax revenues that are already being collected on a number of uses, including building construction or repairs, purchasing buses and transportation, the district’s 1 to 1 initiative and other measures.
Mount Vernon’s city council includes Paul Tuerler, Mark Andresen and incumbent Stephanie West. Voters should vote for no more than two in this race.
Mount Vernon School board candidates include Nick Edwards, Ian Dye, William L. Thomsen and incumbents Ricky Ray Elliott and Lori Merlak. Voters should vote for no more than three candidates in this race.
All Linn County residents will also be weighing in on Public Measure G, if the following public measure should be adopted: Gambling games on an excursion gambling boat or at a gambling structure in Linn County are approved. Gambling games with no wager or loss limits, on an excursion gambling boat or at a gambling structure in Linn County are approved. If approved by a majority of the voters, operation of gambling games with no wager or loss limits may continue. If disapproved by a majority of the voters, the operation of gambling games on an excursion gambling boat or at a gambling structure will end within 60 days of this election.
Passing public measure G does not mean a gambling institution will be built around those parameters, but allows the county to develop plans for gambling institutions in the community.
Rural Linn County residents and residents in towns including Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Fairfax, Marion, Robins, and the Linn County portion of Walford will also have a chance to weigh in on the continuation of public measure J, the authorization to allow the county to extend the local option sales and service tax to continue from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2034. The sales tax in rural Linn County is currently collected for Linn County Secondary Roads, property tax relief and conservation projects. The measure takes a simple majority to pass and does not institute a new tax, just continues a tax already being collected.
In person absentee voting runs from now through Monday, Nov. 1, until 5 p.m. at Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center, 935 Second Street S.W. Cedar Rapids.
A satellite voting station is open at Lindale Mall near the play area through Saturday, Oct. 31. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.
Voters must prove their identity before voting. They’ll be asked for an approved form of ID. Those forms if ID include:
• Iowa Voter Identification Card (needs to be signed)
• Iowa Driver’s License
• Iowa Non-Operator ID
• U.S. Military ID or Veteran ID
• U.S. Passport
• Tribal ID Card/Document
A voter without one of the above forms of ID may have their identity verified by another registered voter in the precinct.
If you are new to Linn County or missed the pre-registration deadline, it is still possible to register and vote on election day by using election day registration.
You’ll need to find your polling place for where you are currently living.
At your correct polling place, you will need to prove who you are (ID) and where you live (residence). The best document to bring is your Iowa driver’s license with your current address.
Along with an acceptable form of ID, voters registering the day of the election need to provide an acceptable form of residence.
Those include:
• Residential Lease/College Residency Letter
• Property Tax Statement
• Utility Bill, including cell phone bill
• Bank Statement
• Paycheck
• Government Check or Other Government Document
Digital forms of residence are accepted.
If you cannot provide ID or confirm where you reside, then a registered voter from the precinct you currently reside in may attest for you. You and the attester will be required to sign an oath swearing the statements are true.
The attester must present an ID to attest for you.
Falsely attesting or being attested for is registration fraud. It is a class “D” felony and is punishable by a fine of up to $7,500 and up to five years in prison.