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As Election Day nears, there are a few things all voters need to be aware of, and for many, that includes a change in polling place. KSMU’s Melanie Foehrweiser has details.
All voters need to bring some form of identification with them. Acceptable forms of ID include: a valid driver’s or nondriver’s license, voter registration card, an ID issued by a Missouri institution of higher education, passport, or a copy of a bill, paycheck, or other government document that shows the voter’s name and address.
The polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but Greene County Clerk Richard Struckhoff says there are times of day voters might want to avoid.
“We believe the busiest times are going to be right when the polls open at 6am, usually over the noon hour as people get off work for lunch and go vote, and again after say 5 o’clock, from 5 to 7 those are the busy rushes.”
No matter what time voters head to the polls, they should expect a line, and Struckhoff asks voters to be patient. He says it can take up to 10 minutes for some voters to cast their ballots, but there are a few things you can do before Election Day to cut down on that time.
“If they want to save themselves some time in the voting process, they should try to go online, or look at the newspaper. We have published a notice with the sample ballots in the newspaper twice.”
Struckhoff says voters can even make notes and bring them to the polls.
Several polling places in Greene County have changed.
Voters who used to cast ballots at Fire Station 1 were told their temporary polling place would be Catholic Campus Ministries. However, due to a broken pump, voters in precinct 3-B will now be casting their ballots at the Phelps Center for Gifted Education on Holland Avenue.
Other temporary changes affect only select voters from the following polling places: 22 people who usually vote at Berean Baptist will now vote at Hickory Hills School. 18 voters from Brookline who usually vote at Republic Fire Station Number 2 will now vote at Macedonia Baptist Church, and two people have had their polling location changed from Willard Central to Willard South Elementary.
Again, those changes are temporary, and Struckhoff says the select voters have been notified.
“All the people who are affected by a polling place change should have received either a yellow card notifying them of the change if it’s temporary, or a new voter card with a red highlighted message that your polling place has changed. So if you’ve got one of those cards, hang onto it because it will tell you where you need to go vote.”
Permanent changes affect the following: voters at Portland Elementary and McGregor Elementary have actually swapped locations. Anyone who voted at Portland School will now vote at McGregor School, and vice versa. Those who voted at Immanuel Baptist will now vote at the Kansas Expressway Church of Christ, and anyone who voted at Wanda Gray School or Ridgecrest Church will now vote at Remington’s on Republic Road.
For more information, you can contact the Greene County Clerk’s office at 868-4055
Election Day is November 6th.
For KSMU News, I’m Melanie Foehrweiser.