Boone County clerk answers what percentage of voters will cast ballots Tuesday

Charles Dunlap, Columbia Daily Tribune
·3 min read

Voters are at the polls today, but how many voters in Columbia and Boone County will cast a ballot? Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon is providing answers.

Tuesday's municipal election is an average local election, she noted in a message to the Tribune. On the ballot specifically in Columbia, voters will decide school board members, city council Wards 2 and 6 representation and whether Ward 1 council member Nick Knoth is recalled. An overall Boone County question (Proposition 1) could mean the adoption of a property tax exemption program for senior citizen residents.

Lennon expects 19% voter turnout "based on how quiet absentee voting has been this election." Missouri has no-excuse absentee voting, which means people can cast ballots earlier than election day. Boone County has received 550 no-excuse ballots as of Wednesday.

"Voters can look up their sample ballot and polling place assignment on our website, showmeboone.com/clerk," Lennon wrote. "Voters should plan to bring a photo ID to the polls, like a Missouri driver’s license, U.S. passport, or military ID. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and we have three central polling places where any Boone County voter can cast their ballot: the Boone County Government Center, Friendship Baptist Church and Woodcrest Chapel."

Filing also recently closed for the Aug. 6 primary election. Nearly all ballot entries for county elected office are finalized. Since a candidate for Boone County Public Administrator withdrew within two days of the end of filing, a special extra filing period opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday and runs through 5 p.m. Friday. This is in accordance with state law.

More: What's on Boone County ballots? Columbia City Council recall vote, bond issue and more

The Boone County Sheriff and Boone County Public administrator are the only contested primaries where voters will decide on a candidate for the general election. All other county-level elections are unopposed for the primary, but there will be contests in November for the general election. The ballot will be stacked.

Voters can expect to see:

  • Republican Sam Turner and Democrat Justin Aldred (incumbent) on the August and November ballots for District I (southern Boone County) commissioner.

  • Republican Cheri Toalson Reisch and Democrat Janet Thompson (incumbent) on the August and November ballots for District II (northern Boone County) commissioner.

  • Democrats Dwayne Carey and Charles Blair for Boone County Sheriff. Whoever wins the primary will be the one Democrat candidate for the general election.

  • Incumbent Kenny Mohr will run unopposed for Boone County Assessor in August and November.

  • Former Boone County Treasurer Republican Dustin Stanton will aim in November to get the position back from Democrat Jenna Redel who defeated him in the previous county general election.

  • Boone County Democrats will decide between Chimene Schwach or Sonja Boone for Public Administrator in August. That is unless a third Democrat or a Republican files by Friday. If a Republican does file, that means a contested general election.

  • Republican Amanda D. Old and Democrat Sherry Terrell (incumbent) on the August and November ballots for circuit (court) clerk.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Boone County clerk predicts 19% voter turnout for municipal election