KTIV NewsChannel 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and SportsWrite-in ballots important in towns with no candidates

Write-in ballots important in towns with no candidates

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -- It's not just a lack of voters, but the general lack of interest in open positions that many other communities are dealing with when it comes to elections.

Across Northwest Iowa, there aren't enough candidates to fill the open positions.

In some places, there are no council candidates; in others, no mayor. For several communities interest in either position is zero.  In Quimby, Dickens and Fostoria, there are no candidates for mayor or city council.

Iowa state law says the top write-in candidate gets the job.

If they're not interested, you move down the line until you find a write-in candidate that accepts.

When that doesn't work, the city council appoints a person or a special election is called.

"Once they've appointed somebody, then the citizenry has the opportunity to petition for a special election, if they don't like who they appointed, but that rarely happens," said Pat Gill, Woodbury County Auditor.

Although Sioux City doesn't have this problem, with more candidates than seats to fill, some write-ins are still possible.

Pat Gill expects "Jake the dog" to be a popular choice this year.

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