No-excuse early absentee voting period open in Missouri

With it being less than two weeks from the Missouri Primary elections, the no-excuse early absentee voting period has opened in Missouri.

Anyone, right now, who is a resident of Jasper County can go to the courts building in Joplin or the courthouse in Carthage and vote absentee. 

Remember, anyone voting will have to show a Missouri driver’s license or a Missouri non-driver’s ID, a passport, a US Military ID or a US Veterans ID card that has your picture on it. 

You can go to the courthouse in Carthage to room 103 or the courts building in Joplin to room 108 to get set up to vote.

Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis told NewsTalk KZRG the no-excuse absentee voting period gives residents a chance to cast their votes early if they’re worried they may not be available to vote on election day on August 6. 

“It benefits the voter,” Davis said. “It makes sure that if you are going to be out of town, you can vote early. If you are going to be in the hospital, or if you are a medical professional, a police officer, firefighter or EMS personnel, you can vote absentee prior to the election.” 

While there are plenty of good reasons to vote early, voters should remember that there are no do-overs. If you cast your vote two weeks prior to election day in the early-voting period, you will not be able to cast another vote in the Missouri Primary Election on August 6.

In terms of what to look for on the upcoming ballot in the Missouri Primary, voters can expect to see a race for Missouri Governor, Missouri Lt. Governor, state treasurer as well as all the state representative races. There will also be two ballot measures for voters to decide on. 

“Most people think that the November election is the most-important election ever,” Davis said about the importance of voting in local elections. “I don’t believe that is necessarily the case. We have municipal elections in April where we are electing our city board members and our school board members and bond issues for our schools and cities. These are the people who touch your lives on a daily basis. They’re the ones educating our kids. They’re the ones paving our roads in front of our houses in our cities. April and August elections are very important.”