Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution requires reapportionment of Congress every ten years based on the population of the states.  Iowa will lose one representative  in congress, dropping from five down to four members, because Iowa has not gained population at the same rate as some other states.

Besides reapportionment of the U.S. Congress, the Iowa General Assembly has been reapportioned as well.  Iowa Constitution Article III, Sections 35 and 36, which deal with apportionment of the General Assembly, were amended in 1968 to bring Iowa in line with the one person, one vote rule set forth by the U.S. Supreme court in a line cases from the early 1960s. 

In Reynolds v. Sims (1964) the Court found a disparity of 14 to 1 in the number of residents in the most populous representative district versus the least populous one in the State of Alabama.  This disparity created what the court found to be an unconstitutional difference in voting power.  Other states had even more egregious differences.  In Connecticut the ratio was 424 to 1; New Hampshire 1,081 to 1; Utah 196 to 1; Vermont 1,000 to 1; California 428 to 1; and the list went on. 

Iowa has a recent history of noncontroversial reapportionments, and our law on reapportionment is cited as the best in the nation.  Iowa Code Chapter 42 sets forth the requirements for reapportionment.  In essence the nonpartisan legislative services agency uses the criteria of state law to objectively draw congressional and legislative lines.  The criteria are based on contiguous area and reduction of population variance (no more than one percent variance between congressional districts and no more than five percent variance between state house districts and state senate districts, respectively). 

In drafting the plan the agency cannot use any demographic information (except for population head counts), previous election results, political affiliation of registered voters, or the addresses of incumbent elected officials.  Each house of the General Assembly votes on the plan as prepared by the legislative services agency without amendment.  If the plan fails to pass one house then the agency drafts another plan using the same criteria, each house can vote on that plan without amendment, and if it fails then a third plan is prepared.  This plan can be amended.

Article III, Section 36 of the Iowa Constitution gives the right of any voter to appeal a redistricting plan to the Iowa Supreme Court.  In 1968 when the law first went into effect some voters appealed to the Supreme Court regarding the plan adopted that year.  The Court found the plan adopted that year did not meet legal requirements and the Supreme Court drafted its own plan.  Since then no plan has been appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. 

Maps of the new precincts can be found on the Auditor’s page of the Scott County website under the Voting category.

Ballots can be requested for mail delivery, or they can be voted over-the-counter at the Auditor’s Office, Scott County Administrative Center, 600 West 4th Street, Davenport, Iowa.  Requests are available on line at this link, http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/pub/absentee_request/Absentee_Ballot_Request_Form_(fillable).pdf, or by visiting the Auditor’s page at the county website, http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/.  Ballots requested by mail are sent to voters within 24 hours of receipt in the Auditor’s Office.

Our office has also learned that the U.S. Post Office will not provide a post mark to locally returned business reply mail, such as the return mail for absentee ballots.  Iowa law requires that absentee ballots received by mail after election day must be post marked before election day in order to be counted.  For this election, all ballots must be post marked on or before November 7th.  If you are returning an absentee ballot by mail please ask to have a post mark placed on the envelope, or apply your own postage to insure that the ballot return envelope receives a post mark.  Also, mailed ballots can be returned over-the-counter at the Auditor’s Office until the close of the polls.  For this election that means ballots can be turned in until 8:00 p.m. on November 8th.

City elections will be held on November 8th, with only one primary election (Davenport’s 5th Ward) to be held on October 11th.  Below is a list of all the candidates for city offices.  An “i” behind a candidate’s name indicates incumbant.  Voters may vote for the number of seats indicates within the parentheses ().

City of Bettendorf

Mayor: Bob Gallagher, Patricia Malinee, Dave Thede

Alderman – At – Large (2 seats): Lisa M. Brown (i), Judy Gackle, Chad A. Miller

1st Ward Alderman: Edward Dean Mayne (i), Thomas Nelson

3rd Ward Alderman: Debe LaMar (i)

5th Ward Alderman: Gary K. Koos, James Stewart (i), Scott Webster

Park Board Commissioner (3 seats): Frank Baden (i), Steve Gustafson, Don Wells (i)

City of Blue Grass

Mayor: Brinson Kinzer (i)

City Council (3 seats): Sandra A. Frericks (i), Brad Schutte, Bonnie Strong (i)

City of Buffalo

Mayor: Doug Anderson (i)

City Council (2 seats) : Judy Hammons (i), Danny Raney, Dave Stickrod,

City of Davenport

Mayor: Bill Gluba (i)

Alderman – At – Large (2 seats): Jason Gordon (i), Gene Meeker (i)

1st Ward Alderman: Nathan Brown (i)

2nd Ward Alderman: Bill Edmond (i)

3rd Ward Alderman: Bill Boom (i)

4th Ward Alderman: Raymond A. Ambrose (i)

5th Ward Alderman (Two candidates with the most votes from the October 11th Primary Election): Rodney Abbott, Sheilia Burrage, Jane Duax, Jordan Schneider, Kevin Spriet

6th Ward Alderman: Jeff Justin (i)

7th Ward Alderman: Barney Barnhill (i)

8th Ward Alderman: Mike Matson (i)

City of Dixon

City Council (2 seats): Amy L. Flynn (i), Write-In

City of Donahue

Mayor: Ken Schoenthaler (i)

City Council (2 seats): Adam Ganzer, Scott D. Wiley (i)

City of Eldridge

City Council (3 seats): Adrian Blackwell, Bernie Peeters (i), Steve Puls (i)
 
City of LeClaire

Mayor: Robert J. Scannell (i)

City Council (2 seats): Terri Applegate, Matthew W. Auliff, Mary Farmer (i), Judy Hartig

City of Long Grove

Mayor: Ida Weibel (i)
 
City Council (3 seats): Donald Abington Jr. (i), Nancy Carol Dalton, Cynthia C. Davis (i)

City of Maysville

Mayor: Write-In

City Council (5 seats): Kelly Johnson, Marilyn Ralfs (i), Marvin Reimers (i), Tawnya K. Stiles, Write-In

City of McCausland

Mayor: Damien Koehn (i)

City Council (3 seats): Lloyd R. Claussen (i), Robert A. McCaughey (i), Mike Ross (i),

City Council (To Fill a Vacancy – To end of term): Write-In

City of New Liberty

Mayor: Write-In

City Council (2 seats): Write-In, Write-In

City of Panorama Park

Mayor: David White

City Council (5 seats): Charlie Butler (i), Susan Hamilton-Trudell (i), Julie A. Naab (i), Andy White (i), Write-In

City of Princeton

Mayor: Brent Herman
 
City Council (3 seats): Brian D. Carter (i), Ann Geiger (i), Kevin M. Kernan (i)

City of Riverdale

Mayor: John J. Franklin

City Council (3 seats): Jim Beran, Cheryl J. Channon (i), Dean Arthur Halsey, Donna Hunt, Judith Krell, Douglas H. Littrel, Athena Smith

City of Walcott

City Council (3 seats): Tim Koehler (i), Lisa Mengler, Jacob Puck (i)

Contact information supplied by the candidates to the Auditor’s Office can be found at:

November 8th election – http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/candidates.php?election=20111108&party=ALL

October 11th election – http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/candidates.php?election=20111011&party=ALL

CERA designation is achieved through a multi-year course of study conducted by The Election Center’s Professional Education Program and completion of twelve core courses taught by the Master’s in Public Administration faculty of Auburn University.  Classes include ethics, voter registration and elections law, planning, communications, and voter participation, among others.  The intent of the program is to professionalize the management of voter registration and elections administration in promoting and preserving public trust in the democratic process.  The Professional Education Program was recognized in 1996 as the top continuing education program in America by the National University Continuing Education Association.

“This is the highest designation available to elections and voter registration officials,” said R. Doug Lewis, director of the Center.  “Of more than 21,000 elections and voter registration officials throughout America only 677 election officials have achieved the CERA status.  Roxanna is one of only 16 Iowa election officials to earned this distinction.  This is an outstanding accomplishment.”

“Scott County is indeed fortunate to have Roxanna as one of the top designated professionals in America.  Obtaining and maintaining CERA status means that she has committed to a career long process of continuing education to improve the electoral process in Iowa and the nation,” he stated.

“These truly are the people who make democracy possible,” Lewis said.  “Auditor Moritz and other CERA professionals serve as the nation’s protectors of the democratic process.  Because of them, Americans have a trust and public confidence in the election process.  They have assurance that the system is fair, free, honest and accurate.  In many parts of the world, their citizens have no faith in the form of democracy offered in their home countries. The importance of what Roxanna does for Scott County is incredible but rarely noticed…unless something goes wrong.”

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz displays the plaque she received from the Election Center.

“This is one of the most challenging education programs I have ever participated in,” Moritz said. “We covered the law, and ethical considerations in how to better serve the public.  We also became more aware of how important it is to nurture and care for the democratic process.  Rich or poor, weak or strong, young or old, we all count the same when we vote,” said Moritz.  “What can be more equal than that?  The CERA program elevates our thinking about the process and the people we serve.”

“It is my great honor to assure that the public’s will is accurately reflected in our elections,” Moritz said.  “I see my role to dignify all potential voters and to remove as many barriers as possible to participation in the democratic process.  Our office cannot be responsible for how many actually turn out for each election, but we can certainly be sure that they have the opportunity to vote and have their votes counted accurately.”

“Normally most Americans don’t even know the election officials exist in their community and that they work constantly to protect the democratic process for its citizens,” Lewis said. “Due to Election 2000, we now know just how important and complicated elections can be. In my opinion, the elections officials deserve the highest recognition that a community can give.  If they don’t do their job well, then citizens have no faith in the democratic process itself.  Without faith in the process, it is almost impossible to believe in government itself – and that is a very large responsibility.”