Voter registration on the rise in county

Statesman Staff Writer

Economic woes and a heated presidential election campaign has brought out citizens who were not previously registered to vote across the nation, state and in Southeast Missouri. The Stoddard County clerk's office has been busy with 105 new voters added to the registration list since Sept. 19 in preparation for the November general election. The last day to register for the general election was Oct. 8.

Stoddard County had 20,775 registered voters for the August primary election, and that number has increased to 20,880 as of Oct. 9.

County Clerk Don White called the increase "pretty significant." Still, Stoddard County lagged behind the increases seen in Cape Girardeau County where 1,636 new voters were added to the registration list and Scott County where 600 new voters were added since the primary election in August.

White said the paperwork has been intensive. In addition to new voters, there has been a flurry of activity with voters changing addresses and updating their voting records, White said. His office is still in the process of adding voters to the registration list. Stoddard County citizens were able to register at the city halls of each town in the county as well as many other locations including the clerk's office, White said.

The upcoming election is setting up for a large voter turnout, White added. Already his office has sent out 500 absentee ballots and he predicts that there will be almost 1,000 total absentee ballots cast.

White noted that the turnout in the August primary election was only 19 percent, which he said indicated some voter apathy. He said it was difficult to predict voter turnout, but that his office was gearing up for a record turnout in November.

Stoddard County still uses paper ballots, though they are counted by machine. White urged voters to make sure they "completely blackened the oval on the ballot" to assure that the votes are properly counted. White added that an "x" or check mark is not sufficient and can cause holdups in tallying the votes.

Those wishing to obtain an absentee ballot may contact the clerk's office. A request for a mailed absentee ballot must be received in the clerk's office by Oct. 29. Voters wishing to vote absentee in person may do so until the close of business on Nov. 3.