Arts on Seerley Blvd. (Cole Fox photo)
By Cole Fox
Primary election results in Black Hawk County were audited on June 4, as required by Iowa law, a process that ensures transparency, among other things, Black Hawk County County Auditor Karen Showalter said in a press release.
“The audit confirmed a perfect match between the hand count and the election night results from the voting machines,” the statement said.
June 2, 2026 election
In one of the most watched local races for county supervisor in District 3, which covers most of Cedar Falls and parts of northwestern Waterloo, Democratic incumbent Linda Laylin, the only woman on the board, lost to Kamyar Enshayan, a retired UNI professor and former Cedar Falls councilman. Enshayan garnered 1,363 votes and Laylin 806 votes. No Republican candidate ran for that seat in the primary.
In District 1 for the Board of Supervisors, which covers parts of Cedar Falls, Republican Jeff Frost was the only candidate on the ballot, receiving 1,264 total votes from his party. That district includes southern rural Black Hawk County; the cities of Hudson, Gilbertville, Washburn, and La Porte City; and western portions of Cedar Falls.
In the remaining seats for Black Hawk County Supervisors, Steve Simon who ran unopposed on the Republican ticket, received 862 votes or 98.74%. In November he will face Democrat Bill Dotzler, who defeated his party opponent, Craig White, during the primary earning 793 votes or 59.71% to White’s 528 votes or 39.76%.
For supervisor in District 4, there was no Republican candidate in the primary. However, there were three candidates on the Democratic side, two of them incumbents. Tavis Hall won decisively with 971 votes or 60.65%. Ritchie Kurtenback received 476 votes o29.73%, and Mark Little 149 votes or 8.31%.
In addition to these races, ballots for Cedar Falls residents included candidates vying for various federal, state and county offices.
Residents within city limits selected candidates for the following county and state offices: Districts 1 and 3 for Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors; State Representatives for Districts 75, 76, and 54; and State Senator for District 27.
The Black Hawk County Auditor’s office reported 14,394 total ballots were cast, a 17.74% turnout of registered voters, from the two parties participating in the primaries–8,895 for the Democratic Party and 5,499 for the Republican Party, with a 32% and 23.81% turnout, respectively.
Why were all supervisors on the ballot this time
Black Hawk County enacted newly drawn district maps for its Board of Supervisors race, replacing the former at-large format as directed by Senate File 75 passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April, 2025. The new map for supervisor districts was approved by the current board late last year.
As written in the bill, the law only applies to counties with populations exceeding 100,000 residents where an Iowa Regents state university is located.
Ballots for Black Hawk County in 2026 listed a single supervisor seat which will represent the respective district based on voters’ residence and precinct. The five seats were randomly assigned staggered terms by the Black Hawk County Auditor’s Office. Thus, districts 2 and 3 will be two-year terms and districts 1, 4 and 5 will be four-year terms.
In the race for House District 75, Democrat Drew Strensland, a UNI grad and a first-time candidate, ran un0pposed. He garnered 2,346 votes.
Below are the candidates, votes received, and percentages from Tuesday’s election as reported by the office of the Iowa Secretary of State and the Black Hawk County Auditor’s office:
