Get ready to vote. Absentee ballots for the November city/school elections are now available in the county auditor’s office.

Their availability began Wednesday, October 18, according to Kim Schaa, Hamilton County auditor and commissioner of elections.

The election is on November 7, 2023.

From now until November 6, absentee ballots may be cast in the Hamilton County auditor’s office, 2300 Superior St., Webster City, during regular office hours.

Those hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Schaa said absentee ballots are available for all cities and school districts within the Hamilton County boundaries.

Take note, though: Absentee ballots must be requested in writing. Request forms are available at the auditor’s office, on the Hamilton County website at hamiltoncounty.org, and at the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.iowa.gov.

Here’s an important deadline: October 23. All requests for ballots to be mailed must be received by the auditor’s office by 5 p.m. on that day.

“This is sooner than it has been in the past,” Schaa said in a media release.

Ballots requested through the mail must be received by the auditor’s office by 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is, again, November 7.

If you have questions regarding the 2023 city/school elections in Hamilton County, contact the Hamilton County auditor’s office at 515-832-9510.