Missouri’s Secretary of State predicts some counties will see a 60 percent voter turnout on Tuesday.
Hotly-contested races for U.S. Senate and State Auditor top Missouri’s ballot tomorrow, and ballot measures on issues like medical marijuana and transportation are also boosting voter interest.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) has been in frequent contact with county clerks across the state.
“I think we’re going to be over 50 percent,” Ashcroft says. “We’re going to have some counties that may be even over 60, 65 percent. Some counties that may be more close to 40 percent. But overall we are going to be over 50 percent.”
Ashcroft says that would be a higher-than-average turnout for a midterm election.
“This should be well above 2014, maybe above the 2016 midterm. We may be looking more around 2010,” says Ashcroft.
The ballot includes four constitutional amendments and three propositions.
Secretary Ashcroft says Tuesday’s election ballot will be one of the longest in Missouri history. He notes it will be the longest ballot in St. Louis County history.
The “Clean Missouri” ballot measure alone is seven paragraphs. That’s Constitutional Amendment One.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley debate at KETC-TV in St. Louis on October 18, 2018, as people watch in an outdoor public viewing area. (Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI)
Ashcroft is urging you to request a sample ballot from your local election authority, and to read it before you get to your polling place.
“If they want, they can go ahead and educate themselves about the issues and the candidates, they can go ahead and mark that sample ballot. And when they go to vote, they can just pull that out of their pocket, refer to it,” Ashcroft says.
Ashcroft says you can also visit govotemissouri.com to read the full texts of each ballot measure. The Proposition C medical marijuana measure’s full text is 50 pages.
Secretary Ashcroft also notes that your polling place Tuesday may be different than the one you voted at during the August primary.
While Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan recently upheld Missouri’s photo ID measure, he stripped several key provisions from it. Ashcroft notes the state is appealing that decision.
Ashcroft emphasizes that if you are registered to vote, you can vote tomorrow. He encourages anyone with election questions to call his office at (866) 868-3245.
Polls open statewide Tuesday morning at 6 and close at 7 p.m. Missourinet will have live election night coverage on Tuesday, beginning at 7:35. Our live five-minute reports will be each hour at :05 and :35, through at least midnight.
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, which was recorded at Ashcroft’s Jefferson City office on November 2, 2018:
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