Absentee voting for Mower County District 1 special primary election to wrap up Monday

The next step in filling the Mower County District 1 County Commissioner vacancy will be the Special Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. 

The vacancy occurred when Commissioner Tim Gabrielson passed away on Nov. 10 and the  county board then approved holding a special election to fill the vacancy on Nov. 24. Seven candidates are running for the office so a special primary election is necessary to narrow the field  down to two candidates who will then advance to the special general election on Tuesday, April  13th.  KAUS News spoke with Mower County Auditor/Treasurer Scott Felten, who stated that absentee voting for the February 9th Primary Election is well underway…

Absentee voting is available now through Monday, February 8 for the primary election at the Auditor-Treasurer’s office in the Mower County Government Center located at 201 First Street NE in Austin.  Regular office hours are 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, Monday – Friday.

The Auditor-Treasurer’s office will also be open for absentee voting on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 10 am – 3 pm and on Monday, Feb. 8 until 5 pm.

Because of how close Election Day is, any voter wanting to absentee vote is strongly encouraged to do so in-person at the Auditor-Treasurer’s office, rather than through the mail.  There is not enough time to mail out absentee ballots and ensure that they are received back in time to be counted.  The deadline to drop off a completed absentee ballot is 3 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 9.  Only voters living in Commissioner District 1 will vote in the special elections.  District 1 includes the townships of Lansing, Red Rock, Udolpho, and Waltham; and also includes the cities of Brownsdale, Mapleview, Waltham, and the 1st Ward, 1st Precinct of the City of Austin. 

City of Austin voters in Ward 1 Precinct 1 will vote at Austin City Hall.

City of Brownsdale voters and Red Rock Township voters will vote at the Brownsdale Fire Hall. 

City of Waltham voters will vote at the Waltham Area Government Center.

Lansing Township voters will vote at the Lansing Township Hall.

The City of Mapleview, Udolpho Township, and Waltham Township are mail ballot precincts and registered voters were mailed ballots previously. To ensure their ballots are received timely, voters in mail ballot precincts are encouraged to return their completed ballot in-person, or they can come into the Auditor-Treasurer’s office with the ballot they received to vote “in-person.”  The deadline for voters in these mail ballot precincts to drop off their ballot is 8 pm, Tuesday, Feb. 9.  The candidates, in alphabetical order include Ric Berg, Tim Duren, Laura Helle, Arnie Johnson,  Mark Lang, Michael Langstaff, and John Mueller.