Live updates: Bousquet, Reed, Rodriguez Villalobos win Dakota County Commission seats

Here's the latest:

2 Republicans, Democrat win Dakota County seats

Republican Rick Bousquet is returning to the Dakota County Commission. Bousquet, who served three different stints on the commission in the 1990s and 2000s, led Tuesday's balloting with 3,080 votes, according to unofficial results. Bousquet, Republican Jeff Reed and Democrat Rogelio Rodriguez Villalobos captured the three open seats on the five-member board. None of the incumbents ran for re-election.

Reed, making his first run for public office, finished second with 2,613 votes, and Rodriguez Villalobos was third 2,275 votes. Republican Walter Beerman and Democrat Ron Hartnett trailed the field with 2,258 and 1,498 votes, respectively.

Henderson wins House District 2 race

10:56 p.m.: Republican incumbent Bob Henderson won his Iowa House District 2 race, capturing 60%, or 7,121 votes, to Democratic challenger Jessica Lopez-Walker's 39%, or 4,605 votes, according to unofficial election results. -Dolly Butz

Scholten wins reelection

10:50 p.m.: In Iowa House District 1, Rep. J.D. Scholten, the former Democratic nominee for House District 4, fended off a challenge from Republican Josh Steinhoff, a teacher and fellow Sioux Cityan. Scholten won with 53%, or 4,606 votes, to Steinhoff's 46%, or 4,011 votes. - Dolly Butz

No new jail for Sac County

Sac County's effort to replace its 85-year-old jail and expand its law enforcement center narrowly failed. Needing 60% voter approval, the $10.95 million bond issue received 58.8%. Unofficial results had 3,015 county residents voting yes to 2,113 no votes.

Plans called for two phases of construction. The first was construction of a 26-bed jail across the street from the existing 24-bed jail, which was built in 1939 and no longer meets modern jail standards.

Skaff ousts Gill as auditor, GOP sweeps supervisor races

10:50 a.m. — Republican Michelle Skaff cruised to convincing win over longtime Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill Tuesday. Republicans also captured all three open seats on the county board of supervisors, maintaining the GOP's grip on the five-member board.

Gill, who has served as auditor for 28 years, was the last elected Democrat in the county, which has moved from blue to dark red in recent election cycles.

Skaff, the deputy auditor the last eight years, won 62% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Republican Mark Nelson, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in supervisor District 3, was elected to his first full term. Nelson defeated Willard Brian McNaughton, 60% to 39%. McNaughton switched parties after losing to Nelson in the GOP primary in June.

Republican David Dietrich beat Democrat Lincoln Ryan, 62% to 37% in District 5 to win his first term. Dietrich will replace Republican Jeremy Taylor, who opted not to run for re-election.

Republican Kent Carper outdistanced Democrat John Herrig, 60% to 39% in District 1 to win his first term in office. The seat is currently held by Republican Keith Radig, who unsuccessfully ran for county auditor, rather than seek re-election. — Dave Dreeszen

Okoboji school bond issue passes  

10:35 p.m. With votes to spare, residents of the Okoboji school district passed a $69 million bond issue for a new elementary school and additions and renovations to high school. The measure garnered nearly 63% support, 3% more than the 60% threshold the state requires for bond measures that raise property taxes.

Also in Dickinson County, voters ousted Democrat Tim Fairchild from the board of supervisors. Republican Levi Markwardt coasted to victory with over 64% of the vote, compared to 35.5% for Fairchild. — Dave Dreeszen

Schultz victorious in Iowa Senate District 6 rematch

10:20 p.m.: Republican Jason Schultz won a commanding victory in his rematch against Libertarian challenger David M. Davis in Iowa Senate District 6.

Preliminary results show Schultz received 80.99% of the vote (23,080 votes) to Davis' 18.69%, or 5,326 votes. There were 90 write-in votes.

Two years ago, Schultz, a Schleswig farmer, and Davis, a military veteran and former truck driver from Harlan, competed to represent the newly drawn District 6. Their results that year were comparable to this year’s returns.

The rather large Iowa Senate District 6 includes all or parts of Ida, Crawford, Carroll, Audubon, Shelby and Pottawattamie counties. Major cities within the sprawling district include Avoca, Audubon, Carroll, Charter Oak, Coon Rapids, Denison, Harlan, Holstein, Ida Grove, Manning and Shelby. — Mason Dockter

Dieken wins re-election to Iowa House District 5 seat

10:04 p.m.: Republican Zachary Dieken sailed to re-election Tuesday night in Iowa House District 5.

Preliminary results show Dieken with 77.84% of the vote (11,141 votes), compared to 21.9%, or 3,135 votes, for his no-party challenger Michael Schnoes. There were 36 write-in votes.

The sprawling, largely rural House District 5 includes all of Osceola and O'Brien counties, the eastern half of Cherokee County and parts of western Buena Vista County. Major cities in the district include Cherokee, Alta, Aurelia, Sheldon, Sibley, Hartley, Primghar, Paullina, Sanborn and Sutherland. — Mason Dockter

Holt easily wins re-election in House District 12

9:53 p.m.: Steven Holt easily won re-election Tuesday night in Iowa House District 12.

Preliminary results show the Republican Holt with 73.73% of the vote (10,263 votes) compared to 26.14%, or 3,639 votes, for his challenger, Democrat Dustin Durbin. 

The sprawling District 12 takes in all of Ida and Crawford counties and portions of western and northern Shelby County. Cities and towns in the district include Denison, Ida Grove, Holstein, Battle Creek, Galva, Schleswig, Charter Oak, Westside, Harlan, Dow City, Manilla, Earling and Irwin. — Mason Dockter

Le Mars school bond passes, Hinton's fails

9:45 p.m. -- With just over 61% support, voters in the Le Mars Community School District approved a $49.97 million measure to build a new elementary school with an estimated cost of $67.6 million.

The school board would utilize SAVE funds to support the remainder of the project and decrease the cost to district residents, according to the district's website.

The bond measure Tuesday passed 4,254-2,671, according to unofficial results. For more on the project, click here.

In the neighboring Hinton school district, voters rejected a $11.9 million measure to upgrade the district's PK-3 building. The measure received 57% support, but fell short of the 60 percent approval required by state law for bonds that raise property taxes.

Hinton officials offered a revamped measure a year after a $16.1 million bond failed. — Dave Dreeszen

Jeneary captures House District 3 seat

9:33 pm. Republican Rep. Tom Jeneary defeated first-time Democratic candidate Emma Bouza in House District 3. Jeneary won with 78.67% of the vote, or 11,991 votes, to Bouza's 21.18%, or 3,228 votes, according to unofficial election results. — Dolly Butz

Feenstra leading in 4th district race

With 13 of the 36 counties in Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District reporting, Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) is leading Democratic challenger by 50 points. — Jared McNett

Seventh time a charm?

After losing six previous school bond issues, Sergeant Bluff-Luton's latest measure -- a $54.6 million proposal to upgrade the district's primary and high school -- is inching toward a long evasive victory. With Woodbury County absentees and the Salix precinct to report, the measure has 58% approval. It needs 60% to pass under a state law requiring super majority approval for measures that raise property taxes. — Dave Dreeszen

Skaff leading in Woodbury Co. auditor's race

With Sloan Community Center being the first unofficial election results reported in Woodbury County, Michelle Skaff is leading the auditor’s race with 393 votes to incumbent Pat Gill’s 186 votes. Republican Kent Carper is ahead in the District 1 Woodbury County Board of Supervisors race, Mark Nelson is leading the District 3 supervisors race and David Dietrich is leading the District 5 supervisors race. — Caitlin Yamada

Absentee ballots climb in Ida County  

8:20 p.m.: "Everything has been going well. We seem to be doing about the about the same as 2020. Our absentee was up from then, as we had a total of 1,135 absentee voters this year," said Auditor Charlys Folk.  — Jared McNett

Polls close in Iowa and Nebraska

8 p.m.: Polls have now closed in Iowa and Nebraska.

In Iowa, we’re tracking races for Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District, Iowa House District 1, Iowa House District 2, Iowa House District 5, Iowa House District 12, Iowa House District 13 and Iowa Senate District 6 as well as seven bond issues, three county board races and one auditor’s race.

In Nebraska, we’re tracking races for Nebraska Legislative District 17 and Dakota County Commissioners. — Jared McNett

Polls close in eastern South Dakota

7 p.m. Voting has ended in the portion of South Dakota in the Central time zone. Voting in the Mountain time zone, west of the Missouri River, will continue for another hour.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Republican who is the state's lone representative, faces a challenge from Democratic nominee Sheryl Johnson.

In extreme southeast South Dakota, voters will elect two representatives in House District 17. Incumbent Republican Reps. Chris Kassin and Bill Shorma and Democrat Ray Ring, a former state legislator, are on the ballot.

In South Dakota, voters elect one senator and two House members from each of the 35 districts.

Follow The Journal's Live results page at siouxcityjournal.com for results from all the tri-state races. — Jared McNett

'Very congenial' voters crowd into Loess Hills polling place 

5:30 p.m.: The Loess Hills Elementary polling place in Sioux City was packed with westside voters Tuesday evening as the sun was setting. 

Linda Craft, one of three precinct chairs at the school, estimated that more than 600 ballots had been cast. 

"We've had no problems," she said. Voters there, she said, have been "very congenial, very patient." — Mason Dockter

Ballot box in Sergeant Bluff jams as voters arrive

4:30 p.m.: The ballot box at the Sergeant Bluff Community Center jammed around 4:30 p.m., causing a line of voters waiting to return their ballots.

Jim Williams, one of the precinct chairs for the location, said a ballot had become jammed in the machine, and they were waiting for someone from the elections office to arrive. Voters were eventually able to return their ballots directly into the box. The Sergeant Bluff Community Center houses precincts 30, 31 and 32.

At the time the machine had become jammed, 1,343 people had voted. Ballots being placed in the machine box while it was jammed were not added to the total number.

Williams said the location had a line out the door starting at 7 a.m. and has had a steady flow of voters since. Williams said out of all the elections he has worked, this has been the busiest. 

"We've had a lot of young people, just registered now, so yeah, it's been encouraging," he said — Caitlin Yamada

Lines in Lawton, Moville when polls opened at 7 a.m.

3:45 p.m.: One of the few lulls in voting occurred at the Lawton Community Center in Lawton, where 453 voters had cast ballots by early afternoon.

"It's a very large turnout for us," precinct chairperson Myrtie Allen said.

A crowd was waiting when polls opened at 7 a.m., and traffic had been steady since then.

"We brought them in at 7, and they just kept on coming. Everyone was very patient. Happy to be able to vote, I think," Allen said.

In addition to the presidential election, a $16.9 million bond issue in the Lawton-Bronson school district was drawing voters.

Election workers in Moville were having a similar experience. Approximately 40 voters were waiting outside the polling site at the Moville Community Center when polls opened and the first three to four hours saw voters waiting in line while all voting booths were full.

More than 540 votes had been cast by 1:30 p.m. — Nick Hytrek

Northside poll worker says voter turnout has been steady with uptick in election registrations

3:00 p.m.: Standing near the flagpole at Bryant Elementary School, Camryn Urban said she felt proud after voting for the first time.

Urban, an 18-year-old North High School student, cast her ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris. She said human rights and women's health are issues that are important to her.

"I feel very proud that I actually get to do something for the country and help try and get things moving along for a lot of people," said Urban, who said she feels that Harris is "doing a really good job with what she's doing." 

Shortly after 2 p.m., Daniel Lynde, chairperson of Precinct 18, said 540 people had voted at Bryant. He said a line had formed at 6:45 a.m., before voting opened at 7 a.m.

"It's just been steady. This is the first time in years that I've seen every single voting booth filled up," said Lynde, who has been working at the polls for 12 years. "We've had a lot more election registrations, which has been a lot more than usual." 

Lynde said there have been "no issues, no problems" at Bryant. Although the fire alarm did go off at one point, he said it was a false alarm.

"Everybody's been polite. They've been patient. Everybody has presented their identification with no issues. Everybody has been very kind," he said. — Dolly A. Butz 

Plymouth County seeing 2020 numbers, Sioux County expects similar

2 p.m.: The 11 precincts in Plymouth County, which is home to more than 25,700 people, have been busy but are doing well, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman. 

"We have approximately 5,500 absentee ballots received with more being dropped off in person as the day goes on! I anticipate, by the end of election day, Nov. 5, Plymouth County will have a very similar voter turnout as four years ago 2020," Feldman said.

In the 2020 presidential race, 73.9% of Plymouth County voters went with former President Donald Trump while 24.6% chose President Joe Biden.

The results were even more lopsided in the Fourth Congressional District race with Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) capturing 80% of voters to Democratic challenger Ryan Melton's 18%. Those two are squaring off again in this year's race.

In neighboring Sioux County, Auditor Joe Van Tol said, "Gut feelings tell us that general election numbers are following previous elections." — Jared McNett

East High precinct sees well over 500 voters by noon, abortion on the mind for first-time voter

Noon: Despite seeing well over 500 voters in the first several hours of voting, poll worker Grace Kavanaugh said there hadn't been "any real complaints" at the Sioux City East High precinct. 

"It's been very nice, people have gone through at a good pace," said Kavanaugh, who has worked multiple general elections. Since she had to work throughout the day, Kavanaugh said she cast her ballot ahead of time.

Outside the front doors of East High, 20-year-old first-time voter Allie Mills said she voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president for two principle reasons: Trump's handling of the economy in the latter stages of his term and abortion.

"I want to have a say over my body," Mills said. — Jared McNett

All parked up at Perry Creek

11 a.m.: Nowhere to park? That was the situation at Precinct 12, located at Perry Creek Elementary School.

A teacher in-service was planned for election day, according to precinct worker Anne Cowley, and officials weren’t given guidelines to handle parking woes.

“It was very, very busy. We had a huge lineup at 7 a.m.,” Cowley said. “We’ve tried to get the word out they can park in the red zone, handicapped places and along the curb.”

Cowley also worked early voting at the Long Lines center prior to election day and noted that turnout was up then. Because Tuesday morning was busy, “I’m hoping it’s up.”

County Auditor Pat Gill spent the morning visiting polling places in the rural areas and planned to hit urban sites in the afternoon. 

“It’s pretty similar to what we’ve had in the past,” he said. “I was very impressed with the early vote we had. We had about 20,000 vote early.”

A “steady stream” has occurred throughout the morning throughout the county.

Gill, a veteran of election days, figures he won’t get home until midnight. “Everything has run smoothly. It’s a great day.”

Voters have been “pretty collegial,” he added. — Bruce Miller

Voter ID now required in Nebraska

10:30 a.m.: Posted on the lawn outside the election precinct at South Sioux City's Memorial Hall were two VOTE HERE signs, one in English and the other in Spanish. Underneath those words, in smaller type, were a message used for the first time in a Nebraska general election: PHOTO ID REQUIRED.

A new law requires voters in the Cornhusker state for the first time to product a valid ID, with signature, to cast a ballot. Smaller signs inside the South Sioux City precinct let voters know the accepted forms of identification: state driver's licenses or other state-issued IDs, U.S. passports, military of veteran IDs, or tribal ID cards.

By around 10:30 a.m., 128 Ward 2 voters had cast ballots at the Memorial Hall precinct. The ballot included a number of contested races, including three open seats on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners. Three Republicans -- Rick Bousquet, Jeff Reed and Walter Beermann -- and two Democrats -- Ron Hartnett and Rogelio Rodriquez Villalobos -- are competing for the three at-large seats. — Dave Dreeszen

No contested local races in North Sioux City

9 a.m.: Polls in South Dakota opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday. By around 9 a.m., over 230 voters had cast ballots at the two precincts in North Sioux City.

Kent Behr declined to disclose his vote for president as he left the polls at the fire station. A Republican, Behr said his vote centered on his love for his country, noting he is a military veteran, along with his father, sister and son.

This was the first election since record flooding devastated the McCook Lake neighborhood, not far from Tuesday's polling sites.

There were no local or county races on the ballot. Union County Sheriff Jim Prouty, appointed as interim sheriff following the death of longtime sheriff Dan Limoges in February, won a contested GOP primary in June. Because no Democrat filed for the office, Prouty avoided appearing on the general election ballot. A member of the sheriff's department since 2011, Prouty will serve the remaining two years of Limoges' term. — Dave Dreeszen

Consistent early morning voters

8 a.m.: Voters filed in and out of Spalding Park Environmental Elementary School. 

The experienced crew of precinct poll workers were able to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

That came as a relief to Kim Mathers, a volunteer poll watcher for one of the political parties.

"It is my job to observe what's going on and to report any irregularities," she said. "So far, so good."

Mathers expects things will remain uneventful throughout the day.

"I vote in this precinct and know most of the poll workers," she said. "I think we're in pretty good hands." — Earl Horlyk   

Polls open in Iowa 

7:00 a.m. Tuesday: A light mist was falling when the doors to the polling station at Irving Elementary School opened promptly at 7 a.m.

Viki Canales arrived a good 10 minutes early.

"I wanted to vote before going to work," she said. "Plus I didn't know if there would be a long line." 

Luckily, Canales was the first one to vote, followed closely by Hailey Hoogers.

"I don't care who you vote for but I want everyone to vote," Hoogers said. "There is so much at stake." — Earl Horlyk

Northwest Iowa county auditors say early vote didn't keep pace with 2020

7 p.m., Monday: A number of Northwest Iowa county auditors told The Journal that through Friday afternoon, early voter turnout was not keeping pace with 2020. 

"As of end of business day on November 1st, we have 831 absentee ballots. In 2020 we had about 1,400 absentee ballots," Osceola County Auditor Rochelle Van Tilburg told The Journal. Registered voters in Iowa were able to make written applications to their county auditors for an absentee ballot which had to be received by the auditor no later than 5 p.m., 15 days before the election. The absentee ballots themselves can still be returned up until 8 p.m., Tuesday. — Jared McNett

On Iowa Politics Podcast

6 p.m., Monday: On the podcast, there’s a whole lot going on with voting in Iowa these days. Plus, we’ll talk to Gazette columnist Todd Dorman about newspaper endorsements, and, of course, we give our hottest takes and predictions for the Nov. 5 election.

Measures exist to ensure security of early, absentee ballots in Woodbury County

5 p.m., Monday: SIOUX CITY — In the Woodbury County Courthouse basement, blue bags full of completed early ballots sit behind locked doors. Each day, more ballots are brought into the room. Bag after bag is filled with up to 900 ballots apiece.

"They stay there until that Monday, Nov. 4, and that's when we will pull them and start processing them," said Steve Hofmeyer, Woodbury County deputy election commissioner. — Nick Hytrek

Learn more

Safety and security

If you're curious to watch how early ballots are processed and stored, check this video out:

2024 candidate profiles and bond issues:

The Journal's compiled a collection of our 2024 candidate profiles and bond issues for the election so Siouxland voters can be as informed as possible about their decision.