After the Election

Because of the decennial U.S. Census, things will change in Iowa politics by the 2022 elections.

With redistricting slated before the midterms, who knows what the new districts created by the non-partisan state commission will look like? In 2001 ours looked like a salamander snaking from Springville through Mount Vernon and Solon out to Tiffin and Oxford. That district elected Democrats to the state house.

Since then, population has grown in Johnson County. I believe some of the Johnson County precincts in today’s House District 73 will be consolidated into a Johnson County dominated district. Who knows though. I recall Jeff Kaufmann was one of two votes against the current House District 73 in 2011 when he was in the legislature and before his son came to win the first four elections in our then newly minted district.

Last night the county auditor reported 56,688 ballots had been sent to voters by his office. Of those, 52,687 have been returned or 93 percent, with 3,873 outstanding. That is an amazing statistic in the last six days of the election.

Everyone expects the national news to be weird between now and election day. I plan to hunker down and do what positive things I can to increase voter turnout for my candidates. I volunteered to be a poll observer in my precinct, which is different because of the coronavirus pandemic. I had to sign a waiver that said, in part,

I acknowledge and agree that the Iowa Democratic Party cannot prevent me from becoming exposed to, contracting, or spreading COVID-19 while volunteering. Therefore, if I choose to volunteer for this project, I may be exposing myself to and/or increasing my risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19. While particular rules and personal discipline may reduce this risk, the risk of serious illness and death does exist.

As Nathan Hale said on Sept. 22, 1776 just before being hanged for spying on British troops, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that on Nov. 3, and there is life after the election.