Pandemic worries caused more Missourians to vote absentee on June 2, officials say

Several large Missouri counties reported a surge in absentee ballots cast for the June 2 local elections, an increase officials attribute to safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring municipal elections historically a produce a much lower turnout than August primary and November presidential elections. Many of the larger counties and cities in Missouri reported between 10 and 20 percent voter turnout, consistent with past contests.

But election authorities said the numbers included a spike in absentee ballots. Kansas City saw a 10.5 percent total turnout, with nearly 11 percent of the 22,386 votes cast by absentee voters. In the comparable 2018 school board and special election, total turnout was nearly 8 percent, while in 2017, 19.23 percent cast ballots.

The wide swings in turnout can depend on interest in each race, according to Kansas City Election Board co-director Lauri Ealom.

Though more absentee ballots were requested than usual during this year’s special election, Ealom noted that voters had twice the amount of time to vote absentee in-person or request an absentee ballot because the election was moved from April to June.

“It turned out just as we envisioned,” Ealom said. “We didn’t have any problems voters would have noticed.”

In St. Louis County, about 40 percent of the nearly 103,000 votes cast were absentee. Total turnout was about 16 percent of registered voters, according to co-director Eric Fey.

“We have never had 40 percent, or anything ever approaching that, of voters voting by absentee ballot,” Fey said. “We’ve never had any more than 15 percent of the voters vote by absentee ballot in any election.

The election board had sent absentee ballot applications to all voters 60 and older, which cost about $50,000, Fey said.

“We hoped a good percentage of people would vote by absentee ballot, thus preventing overcrowding of polling places,” Fey said. “That’s basically what transpired on election day.”

Boone County, in mid-Missouri, saw four times as many absentee ballots cast during the June 2 election, compared to years past. Total turnout was 11.87 percent.

Boone County County Clerk Brianna Lennon said she compared the June election to a similar municipal election in April of 2017.

“The turnout was the same (as the 2017 election), but the big difference we saw was the proportion of absentee ballots that we saw,” Lennon said.

Ealom said, there were few unanticipated pandemic-related concerns raised by Kansas City voters.

One came at a polling place at The Whole Person, a midtown social services agency for the disabled with a policy requiring face masks.

“Some voters didn’t like that because that was what they said is against their civil liberties,” Ealom said.

She said the Kansas City Election Board will always try to use The Whole Person as a polling location because it is handicap accessible and has resources for differently abled voters.

“I don’t think wearing a mask in the midst of a pandemic is considered voter intimidation,” Ealom said.

The Election Board, however, put a stop to temperature checks at Lincoln Middle School, which Ealom viewed as voter intimidation. She said the authorities were unaware that the new polling location would perform those checks prior to election day.

“As soon as we found out, they stopped,” Ealom said.

Next election

Voters have already begun thinking of the August election.

Ealom said the Kansas City Election Board has already received requests for the new mail-in ballot created by legislation signed by Gov. Mike Parson June 4.

The new law, which expires at the end of this year, allows for any voter to request a ballot be mailed to them, though a notary would have to stamp his or her seal on the ballot envelope for voters to mail back to local election authorities.

The law also expands absentee voting options that don’t require notarization for anyone who is 65 or older, immunocompromised, or with certain chronic or respiratory diseases included in the law.

In oral arguments before the Missouri Supreme Court Monday morning, the Missouri chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of Women Voters asserted that all Missourians should be able to vote by mail without a notary.

The judges had questions about whether voters could have their ballots processed by notaries remotely.

The attorney arguing for the Missouri Secretary of State, John Sauer, said processing by a remote notary would be “extremely challenging,” considering the time constraints voters have in requesting and mailing back their ballot by election day.

Voters have until July 22 to request a ballot by mail. They would have to visit with a notary through an online video chat, sign the ballot in front of the notary and then mail the ballot envelope to the notary, if they don’t want to leave their home, according to Sauer.

Then, the notary would have to affix their stamp and commission number to the ballot envelope and mail it back to the voter.

The voter would have to mail the notarized envelope to their local election authority, which would have to receive the ballot by 5 p.m. Aug 4 to be counted.

“I anticipate there’s going to be a challenge with this with the voters because it’s going to be confusing,” Ealom said.

Election authorities plan to rely on in-person voting, even though voters will have an additional option through the newly created mail-in ballot.

That means they will have to ramp up the number of polling locations, many of which canceled ahead of the June election. Kansas City went from 115 polling locations to 28.

Ealom said the election board was looking to double the number of polling places. She also said the board has entered into an agreement with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to use up to 50 city employees as poll workers.

An ordinance to allow city employees a paid day off of work to assist with elections is making its way through the Kansas City Council.

St. Louis County already has tens of thousands of applications sent in for absentee ballots for the August election.

For notarization, Fey said typically, the election authority would tell voters to go to their bank or campus registrar. However, this election he anticipates library branches and political campaigns to offer notaries.

“Absentee/mail-in balloting will take a much larger role in the August and November elections,” Fey said.