With the Aug. 6 primary and the Nov. 5 general elections right around the corner, there are several dates Jefferson County voters need to know, including the deadline to register to vote and the period for early voting.
For the August primary election, voters will choose from a pool of candidates vying for their political party’s nominations, and then the primary winners will face off in the November general election.
The elections will be for county, state and federal offices, with some candidates running unopposed, said County Clerk Jeannie Goff.
Jeannie Goff
“People take (the primary) for granted,” Goff said. “In the general (election), there’s no opposition for a lot of these positions, in our county especially. So, the August election will pick the person who is going to be elected to office.”
Jefferson County voters who want to make sure they get a say in choosing their elected officials need to make sure they are registered to vote and avoid snags that can slow down the polling process.
Save the date
Deadlines for those wanting to register to vote in the primary election or request an absentee ballot have already passed.
Countians will have several ways to vote in the primary.
The first is by absentee voting with an excuse.
According to the county’s website, any voter who may be “out of town, away at school or incapacitated due to illness” may cast an absentee ballot at the clerk’s office, 729 Maple Street, Suite G17, in Hillsboro.
Alternatively, people may use an absentee ballot if they are unable to vote in person at the clerk’s office.
“Sometimes, people want to vote through the mail because it’s a hardship for them due to some physical disability or any type of disability,” Goff said. “It’s easier for them to vote at home through the mail, and they just need to request (the ballot) in writing. Sometimes they think they can just call, but we have applications that we can send them, an absentee ballot application, and let them sign it and mail back to us.”
According to Missouri law, any absentee ballots received after 7 p.m. on the day of the election will not be counted.
Beginning on July 23, Jefferson County voters also may cast their ballot in person at the clerk’s office with no excuse necessary. That continues until the day before the election, Monday, Aug. 5.
Of course, countians also may cast their votes on Election Day at their respective polling places.
Common misconceptions
Some snafus can occur at the County Clerk’s office and on Election Day that can easily be avoided by following the rules, Goff said.
In a primary election, voters must choose a party ballot – either Republican, Democratic, or Libertarian. Alternatively, voters may select a nonpartisan ballot where they can only vote on ballot issues, not candidates.
One of the biggest problems Goff sees on Election Day involves what residents need to bring to their voting place.
She said people need a photo ID, like a driver’s license or a passport, to vote in person.
“It’s not just an ID or election notification; it needs to be a photo ID,” she said.
Goff said power of attorney is not applicable in absentee voting. Instead, all absentee ballot envelopes must be signed by the voter to be counted, according to the county’s website.
“The voter has to make an attempt to sign, even if it’s just an X, but sometimes powers of attorney will just try signing their name, and put their name and ‘power of attorney,’” Goff said. “Power of attorney does not work on voting; that’s a big misconception.”