Every four years, County Auditors across the State of Iowa must individually determine their level of involvement in the administration of elections when they on the ballot.

As Commissioner of Elections, an Auditor must fulfill his/her statutory requirements to administer all elections. The law does not excuse an Auditor from his/her duties when the Auditor is on the ballot or when the Auditor has an opponent on the ballot.

When an Auditor is administering an election, he/she is guided by their oath of office, professional ethics, and election law – specifically avoiding election misconduct as outlined in Code of Iowa sections 39A.2 through 39A.5.

In February 2007, I was elected Linn County Auditor.  Since taking office, I have faced opponents on the ballot in the 2008 primary, the 2012 primary, and the 2012 general election.  I have an opponent on the June 2016 primary election ballot.

For the June 2016 Primary Election, the Linn County Auditor’s Office will be staffed so that I can remove myself from any hands-on election activity. Specifically, I will not be:

• Handling any voted or unvoted absentee ballots;

• Accessing the ballot room without another employee present;

• Accessing the election management system;
  

• Accessing the voter registration system; or

• Visiting polling places on election day.
  

In addition, my key card access to the ballot room has been deactivated by an employee of the Linn County Board of Supervisors and my I-Voters user name has been deactivated by an employee of the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. 

Maintaining the integrity of every election is a duty that I take seriously regardless of whether or not I have an  opponent on the ballot.  -Joel D. Miller – Linn County Auditor