There’s one week left to vote in-person absentee in Columbia ahead of the Aug. 5 special election.
So far about 750 people have cast their ballots in person, with another 800 people voting through the mail, Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said.
These numbers reflect turnout at around the halfway point of in-person absentee voting, which began July 22.
“I think we’ll probably see a hundred or so people voting each day as we lead up to Election Day,” Lennon said.
The numbers are “relatively small, but that’s to be expected,” Lennon said in a phone interview, noting that absentee voter turnout this year has been fairly consistent with a typical special election.
Lennon said she expects to see total voter turnout around 8% to 9% of the county’s registered voters.
Voter turnout is typically lower in odd number years due to August and November election dates being reserved but not required, she said. This year’s ballot only includes one countywide initiative.
For the last two weeks ahead of an election, voters don’t need a reason to vote in-person absentee. Mail-in ballots require a valid reason for approval.
In-person no-excuse absentee voting is relatively new to Boone County, starting in 2022, a move that takes pressure off polling officials and offers more opportunity to residents, Lennon said.
“It also gives us the ability to help voters better, because if somebody comes in like four days before Election Day and they need to update their address or something like that, they’ve got time to do it,” Lennon said. “It’s not a situation where they feel rushed and everything.”
On the ballot for all Boone County residents is a revised version of the senior tax freeze. County voters are being asked whether or not there should be an extension to the senior tax freeze which would include any future voter-approved debt, such as bond issues.
There are two other district specific voting initiatives. Voters living in the Harrisburg School District are being asked to vote on an increase in funding for the district on their ballot. On the ballot for residents in Columbia’s Second Ward is the choice between Vera Elwood and Ken Rice for Columbia City Council.
County residents can vote in-person absentee at the Boone County Government Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except for Sunday through Aug. 4.
