If you already have made up your mind who to vote for in the August primary, you can cast your vote now. But you have to make a promise if you do.
Secretary of State spokesman Ryan Hobart says people who promise they will be out of town on election day can vote now. But what if those voters lie? “People can look into it if they wanted…but usually voters are taken at their word,” he says.
We’re still six weeks away from election day. A voter might have a change of opinion. Maybe another candidate will look better as election day gets closer. Too bad, says Hobart: ”Once somebody’s cast their ballot they’ve had their opportunity to make their voice heard.
The Secretary of State usually does a forecast of voter turnout on election day. But Hobart says officials don’t try to guess how many absentee votes will be cast—although county eleciton officials use the total absentees to gauge how busy they might be on August 7th.
Ballots carry names of about 230 candidates on the Democratic side, and about 300 on the Republican ticket. Libertarians have 21 candidates and Constitution Party candidates number six. That’s 559 people on various ballots for statewide offices, legislative seats, Congress, Senators, and circuit judgeships.
The most contested races are for Lieutenant Governor–eight Democrats, four Republicans and one each form the Libertarian and the Constitution parties. Ten candidates are running for the U-S Senate, eight of them Republicans.
Absentee voting continues until the close of business August 6th.