IOWA, USA — Iowa voters hit the polls on Tuesday, June 7 to participate in the primary election. Along the way, they encountered more than just ballots and "I Voted" stickers.
Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said in a 9:51 p.m. tweet that 61,754 Polk County voters had cast ballots at polling places.
"I usually don't always vote in the primary. As long as it was my party, I didn't care. But a candidate had called me and told me how important it is to vote even in the primary, and that's why I came out today," said Karen Muelhaupt, a voter from Dallas County.
Voters were concerned about a variety of issues, including inflation, wages, abortion rights and gun control.
"Experience is important to me and where they stand on the issues. I believe in a woman's right to choose abortion or not, and that was one of my key issues. I also am very concerned about gun control and I want a candidate that's going to do something about gun violence," said Bonnie Welch, a voter in West Des Moines.
For longtime voters, though, the primaries may have looked a little different.
New election laws in 2021 led to several changes, including changing polling place closing time to 8 p.m. for all elections.
In addition, redistricting led to many voting location changes. Election offices did send out mailers letting voters know if their precinct had changed.
However, these new polling locations still caused difficulties for some voters. Shalene Thielen of West Des Moines, went to her typical polling place only to be told she needed to vote elsewhere.
"I guess we're in the wrong precinct, so we're going to go three minutes away," Thielen said.
Thielen was surprised by the change and claimed to have never received a mailer or warning about the new polling location.
Other voters were similarly frustrated by the election changes.
"I'm disgusted by some of the changes and making it more difficult to vote. I think it's ridiculous," Muelhaupt said.
Despite these concerns, enthusiasm was high at the polls.
"As the state has gone through so much, I think a lot of us are eager to get out into the community, really get out here and make some real impact," said Carlos Marroquin, a voter in Des Moines. "I think a lot of the folks who are running for a lot of the changes to come might actually bring some real change to our state."