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Flood Victims Wonder Where to Vote

By Becky Ogann

CEDAR RAPIDS - June's disaster could create a lot of confusion in November on election day. Many uprooted flood victims are wondering where to go to vote.

Where you live depends on where you vote. But what if you used to live here and now have a temporary home, where do you go to cast a ballot? One flood family helps us explain.

Mary and Roger Roff hardly remember what life was like before the flood. Construction projects and piles of paperwork rule their daily routine. The couple could use anything normal. But even the Roff's election day ritual is now different, their regular voting location took on water too. The Cedar Rapids couple must figure out where to cast their ballots.

The Linn County Auditor suggests flood victims plan ahead. Come election day, they should know what address they want to register. Take the Roffs - they have the option of listing their Cedar Rapids home or their FEMA trailer.

And they need to have a valid driver's license and proof of address. But showing up without either item doesn't disqualify flood victims.

"If you live with a friend or relative, they can go to the polls and vouch that in fact you do live at that residence," said Joel Miller, Linn County Auditor.

An eligible voter can only vouch for one person. To avoid confusion and possibly frustration, the Roffs are thinking about trying something new.

Absentee and satellite voting, the auditor says, will prevent more confusion on an already stressful day.

Even if you are not a flood victim, things could be different for you on election day. The flood destroyed about 15 of the 85 precincts - so your voting location could be somewhere else.

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