School Measures on Ballot for Special Election Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tuesday December 11, is election day for two communities on the Iowa side of the Mississippi. The Bettendorf School District and the Davenport Community School District have measures on the ballot they want you and I to approve.

In Bettendorf, the school district is asking voters to approve a General Obligations Bond to fund athletic facilities, classroom modernization, and new classroom space. In Davenport, the district wants passage of a Physical Plant and Equipment levy. This according to a report in the Quad City Times.

You can look at the Times article for the merits and details on these two measures. I'm more interested in how many people will actually turn up and vote.

So how many people will show up at the polls? Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz told the newspaper, “I think we’ll be lucky if we get about 2 percent voter turnout." That leads to my next question, why weren't these measures on the ballot a month ago? Turns out, according to the Quad City Times, it's against the law. There are restrictions on what can be included in a single election cycle.

So Bettendorf will spend $5,000, and Davenport $10,000, to open polling places that 98% of it's residents will ignore because a law prohibited these measures on the ballot in November's election. I guess for hard working cities, it's not that expensive.

Yet, what might be expensive is the fact that 98% of us won't bother to weigh in on whether or not we think these measures have merit or not, mainly because they couldn't be included in the election where many more showed up to vote. That's just stupid if you ask me.

If you're interested in making your voice heard, here's the polling places for the election:

Polls in Bettendorf are open 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the following locations:

● Waterfront Convention Center - 2021 State St, Bettendorf

● St. John Vianney Church - 4097 18th St, Bettendorf

Polls in Davenport are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the following locations:

● Blue Grass Public Safety Building - 606 W. Mayne St., Blue Grass

● St. Mark’s Lutheran Church - 2363 W. 3rd St., Davenport

● Third Missionary Baptist Church - 222 W. 14th St., Davenport

● 4-H Building – M.V. Fairgrounds - 2815 W. Locust St., Davenport

● Prince of Peace Lutheran Church - 415 W. 53rd St., Davenport

● Duck Creek Park Lodge - 3300 E. Locust St., Davenport

● Davenport Fairmount Library - 3000 N Fairmount St., Davenport