With one week until the Missouri August primary election, Boone County is already approaching the total number of early votes cast during the August 2024 primary.
As of Tuesday, 3,526 people have voted early in Boone County, either by mail or in person. That's just 653 votes shy of the county's August 2024 early voting total of 4,179, according to Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon.
Of those ballots, 2,500 were cast through no-excuse in-person absentee voting since early voting began July 21. Another 419 voters cast ballots Monday alone, while more than 450 people voted Saturday and just over 100 voted on Sunday.
Lennon said election officials anticipated this year's August primary would draw more interest than a typical midterm election because four constitutional amendments were moved from the November ballot to August.
"We had a sense, just from questions we would get from the community and talking to our colleagues in other counties, that this would be a higher-turnout election," Lennon said. "That's what we're seeing bear out now that we've got no-excuse absentee voting happening and pretty sizable crowds every day."
She said the county is averaging about 400 early voters each day.
One of those early voters was Kenny Freeman, who said he wanted to avoid any uncertainty on Election Day.
"Because it's early, and you never know what may happen on Election Day," Freeman said. "When you vote ahead of time, you know you've got it done. You know your voice has been heard."
Lennon said many voters have also contacted the clerk's office with questions ahead of Election Day.
"A lot of folks" want to better understand what will appear on their ballot and which congressional district they're in, Lennon said.
Lennon said voters should check the Boone County Clerk's Office election website or the Missouri Secretary of State's website to verify their district because some federal online mapping tools have not been updated with Missouri's newest congressional maps.
Although early voting has been busy, Lennon said she still expects overall turnout to be around 40%, noting that no-excuse absentee voting has shifted when people vote rather than dramatically increasing overall participation.
"People that would have normally voted on Election Day are now choosing to vote earlier instead," Lennon said.
She encouraged voters who already know how they plan to vote to cast their ballots before Election Day if possible.
"If you know how you're going to vote, you have a photo ID, you're ready to go, you can come to our office before Election Day and vote," Lennon said.
Early voting in Boone County continues through Monday, Aug. 3, at the Boone County Government Center.
Additional voting opportunities:
- July 28–31: Boone County Government Center, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Aug. 1: Boone County Government Center, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
- Aug. 1: Southern Boone Public Library (Ashland) and Centralia Public Library, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- Aug. 2: Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
- Aug. 3: Boone County Government Center, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Lennon also reminded voters who requested a mail ballot to return it before 7 p.m. on Election Day, as ballots received after that deadline cannot be counted.
Polls across Missouri will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Voters can learn more about candidates and ballot measures through the KOMU 8 News voters guide.
