Local election officials say voter turnout may be lower than usual in today’s (Tuesday) primary elections in Carroll County. Since 2016, total participation has hovered around 10 percent of registered voters, ranging from 9.03 percent in 2016 to 12.02 percent in 2022. The 2020 Iowa Primaries were an unusual standout, with a 36.24 percent turnout during the first year of COVID-19, and absentee voting was at an unprecedentedly high level. As of about 5 p.m. yesterday (Monday), only around 300 absentee ballots had been requested, which is lower than usual in Carroll County. Another contributing factor is the low number of contested races. Democrats do not have a single contested race on their ballot, while Republicans have just two. One is for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, where Kevin Virgil is challenging Republican incumbent Randy Feenstra. The only other contested race is for the Carroll County District 5 GOP nomination, which features Adams Schweers and Mark McCrea. Polls are open until 8 p.m. tonight (Tuesday). Carroll Broadcasting will bring you the results of the primaries online at 1380kcim.com, our social media pages, and the Carroll Broadcasting mobile app.
