The voting season has begun.
Late Saturday morning a few people walked into the Centralia Public Library Reading Room The first day of the county’s “No Excuse Absentee Voting” program, 20 people voted in Centralia and the next day, 41 voted at the Columbia Mall.
Marilyn Magley votes at the Centralia Public Library as Cindy Hinspeter waits
“We had lots of positive feedback, which was great,” Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said. “Demographics, well it was really all across the board. I’d say it mirrored the demographics of overall local election turnout. No Excuse Absentee tends to give voters that already planned to vote a convenient way to vote, but it doesn’t increase overall turnout.”
To participate, voters were required to have some form of photo ID, Voters must bring a photo ID, such as a Missouri driver’s license, passport, or military ID, in order to vote in person, Lennon said.
She clarified for those planning to use a passport as identification it had to have expired after November 2022.
“It was a great day to come out and make your voice herd,” she said.
Historically, Lennon said, voter turnout for local municipal elections has ranged from 15 to 25 percent.
For the complete article, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard.
