Thousands of Boone County voters are expected to head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the primary election and make their choices for governor, Congress and many other local races.
Poll workers are expecting a good turnout. About a fourth of registered voters are expected to cast ballots, Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said.
About 128,000 people are registered to vote in the county, according to Missouri Secretary of State records.
“We’re expecting 25%-30% turnout, so 28% is probably a fair number,” Lennon said in an email. She added that, as of midday Thursday, about 2,800 voters had already cast votes, including absentee and mail-in ballots.
At stake are the nominations for many Republicans and Democrats — and, in some races, a small number of candidates from other parties — who will compete against each other in the Nov. 5 general election.
Those positions include seats in Congress, the state House and Senate and two of three seats on the Boone County Commission.
In Missouri, voters may vote in only one party’s primary. Once voters arrive at their polling place, they’ll be asked to choose a primary ballot for either the Republican, Democratic or Libertarian party.
Voters who don’t wish to participate in any party’s primary may ask for a non-partisan ballot that features only the propositions, constitutional amendments and other ballot questions.
In Columbia, voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 1, which would extend a quarter-cent sales tax for capital improvements for another 10 years.
Voters in the city’s First Ward also will be casting ballots in a special election to fill the area’s seat on the Columbia City Council — although they only have one choice, since Valerie Carroll is the lone candidate who met the requirements to be on the ballot.
Boone County voters also will decide two proposed amendments to the state constitution — one that would exempt child care businesses from property taxes and another that would require the city of Kansas City to increase the minimum spending level for its police department.
More details about the election:
- For those who can’t make it to the polls Tuesday, no-excuse absentee voting continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Voters can visit the Boone County Government Center, 801 E. Walnut St. Be sure to bring an accepted form of identification. (A Missouri driver’s license is the most common form of ID.)
- On Tuesday, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can vote at their designated polling site based on their home address or at any of several central voting sites. Those central polling places include: Boone County Government Center, 801 E. Walnut St.; Friendship Baptist Church, 1707 Smiley Lane; or Woodcrest Chapel, 2201 Nifong Blvd.
