Planning for 2020 Elections in Boone County, MO

Immediately following the March 10th presidential primary election, the urgency and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic launched discussions in Missouri about how to administer the April 7th General Municipal election. The office was already beginning the process of testing voting equipment, confirming polling place assignments, and recruiting and training poll workers. As the uncertainty of the pandemic increased so did concerns about encouraging voters and poll workers to show up to polling places to cast a ballot. In light of these challenges, the April 7th General Municipal election was postponed to June 2nd. Election officials now have more time to plan and voters have more time to apply for an absentee ballot, which I encourage every Boone County voter to do before the May 20th deadline. But the story doesn’t end there.

The pandemic has illustrated a serious weakness in Missouri election law: it’s extremely inflexible. Mail-in voting is only allowed for elections that have a single nonpartisan issue on the ballot. Our office would mail a ballot to all qualified voters and voters would then return the ballot to the office. In our current circumstances, absentee voting is the only available mail ballot option. Voters must apply for an absentee ballot, state one of six reasons that prevent them from going to the polls, and have their ballot notarized before mailing it back to the clerk’s office.

Missouri is in the small minority of states that lacks any form of early voting or no-excuse absentee voting. Most voters cast ballots in person on election day so we need adequate numbers of polling places, poll workers, and resources to conduct a successful election that ensures every voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard. In a pandemic, polling places are harder to find because many buildings are discouraged from being open to the public or simply feel it’s unsafe to do so. In addition, poll workers — over half of whom are over 60 years old — are unable or unwilling to serve during a public health crisis. It’s not hard to see how this can be a recipe for low turnout and reduced confidence in our elections.

Election laws can still be changed in time for the August and November elections, but time is short and the key is making sure that no Missouri election authority is set up to fail. The closer we get to an election, the harder it is to make large-scale process changes. For example, because mail-in voting requires us to mail a ballot to every voter, we would need to order far more ballots than usual (adding printing time and cost), hire a vendor that can package and mail 120,000 ballots (or build infrastructure to do it in-house by ordering supplies and hiring staff), and, finally, recruit and train enough election judges to process the returned ballots. At a minimum, in the event of a disaster, all voters should explicitly be able to vote by absentee ballot. However, even small changes, like an increase in absentee ballots requests, require a shift in resources to timely process and mail ballots. It’s a big lift for a county to completely change their election process so the more time we have to prepare, the better the outcome.

Making decisions now to benefit June, August, and November elections is both prudent and proactive. Local election officials are looking for creative ways to make sure voters don’t have to choose between their health and their right to make their voice heard. We can plan contingencies now to keep voters and poll workers safe and protect the integrity of our elections. The state legislature can and should address Missouri’s limited laws to give local election officials the tools and resources to run secure and accessible elections for all voters.

Finally, voter education and communication remain critical to a successful election. Elections this year may look a little different, making it all the more important that we prioritize educating voters so that everyone knows how and when to cast their ballot. In Boone County, we’ll be using sample ballot mailings, social media, and press releases to push election information out on a regular basis to ensure voters have all the information they need to make their voice heard.

2020 looks to be a year of uncertainty, but there are steps we can take now to mitigate obstacles. Advocate for mail ballot options like expanded absentee voting. Remind your friends and family to request your absentee ballot before May 20th for the June 2nd General Municipal election. Volunteer to be a poll worker. And keep encouraging eligible voters to register to vote. Together we can protect public health and make sure every voter has a voice in our community.