No excuse absentee voting opened on Tuesday in Missouri.
In Greene County, County Clerk Shane Schoeller said there was a strong turnout, with over 2200 votes cast Tuesday.
Schoeller said his department saw an average of 30 minutes wait time, though he said during busy times some voters may spend an hour waiting. The size of the ballot itself is a contributing factor. Schoeller stressed that this ballot has over 30 items and encouraged voters to come prepared to be decisive.
(To that end, find sample ballots at this link, find the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri's Voter Guide at this link and find KSMU's election coverage here.)
The Library Center branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library is serving as a no-excuse absentee voting site for its first Presidential Election.
881 of Tuesday’s votes were cast there. Branch Manager Jessie East said the line Tuesday snaked from inside the building, out and down the front sidewalk. East said a line of another 50 people were waiting before they opened for voting at 9 a.m. Wednesday. But she said people were “excited to be voting at the library and were happy to see such a great turnout.”
Library Communications Director Vickie Hicks said they’ve been asked if wait times will improve in the coming days, but said they don’t know what to expect.
Clerk Schoeller said he expects to see even more voters in the days leading up to the election, and if this election is anything like 2020, his office hopes early voting will mean shorter lines on election day.
He said close to 30,000 mail-in and in-person absentee votes were cast in 2020.
Schoeller also emphasized that voters should understand that this is not like election day, access to in-person no-excuse absentee voting does end at specific times each day, regardless of how many people are still in line.
In-person no-excuse absentee voting is available at the Greene County Elections Center, 1126 N. Boonville Ave. in Springfield, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., up to and including the day prior to the election, as well as Saturday, October 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Voters can also cast their ballot at The Library Center, 4653 S Campbell Ave in Springfield, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., up to and including the day prior to the election, as well as Saturday, October 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you live outside of Greene County, contact your local county clerk’s office for details.