Pettis County Clerk Nick La Strada wants to alert as many potential voters as possible of the important upcoming elections.
“We do have four elections that are coming up,” La Strada said, “but we're gonna keep focus on the upcoming Feb. 6 election. That is a revenue bond election, a one-issue revenue bond, so only the people that live in the city limits of Sedalia are eligible to vote.”
The City of Sedalia wants to access $60 million from a State Revolving Fund to replace the aged north wastewater treatment plant with modern technology and address leaky inflow pipes that force Sedalia to treat twice as much water as it should.
“We think it's going to be about $40 million for the plant and then another $20 million for projects for inflow infiltration,” City Administrator Kelvin Shaw told the Democrat on Friday, Jan. 5. “We treat not quite twice as much sewer as we generate in water, so we're getting a lot of stormwater inside our sewer pipes, and it costs us to treat that rainwater.”
For smaller, one-issue elections like the one this February, the city hopes to save money by only having in-person voting at the Pettis County Annex, 215 E. Fifth St., which houses the Pettis County Clerk’s Office.
“You can come to the annex,” La Strada said. “Right now, we're open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday) and we have absentee voting going on right now in person.”
The polling place is already open for absentee voting, and the last two weeks before the election is considered no-excuse absentee voting.
“Legislators just passed that, it's pretty much like early voting,” La Strada pointed out. “If you feel that you can't make it to your polling location, just come here and vote. We worked out that on Election Day, only for this Feb. 6, we will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.”
La Strada worries that Feb. 6 voters might try to cast ballots at their normal polling stations.
“We're going be able to save a lot of money for the City of Sedalia to host this election,” La Strada said. “So we came up with a good master plan for doing that. The City of Sedalia is wanting to save money and by law, we (the county clerk’s office) must host. We're kind of like the umpire, we just want to make sure it's efficient.”
So far, the ballots for the Feb. 6 bond are rolling in and La Strada said his office has already accepted ballots from more than 90 early voters.
“We've already passed one week of voting and I think 96 ballots have already been cast,” La Strada said. “Just remember, the last day to register to vote is going to be Jan. 10, so must make sure you register to vote.”
Those who aren’t currently registered to vote here can do so at pettisclerk.gov, by calling 660-826-5000 ext. 918 or by contacting La Strada at 660-281-7767.
“Go to pettisclerk.gov and that spells out the whole issue,” La Strada said. “So you can get on, check that out, and pretty much view your sample ballot.”
The elections office is trying to get the word out about changes to voting procedures to avoid disenfranchising anyone.
“I know people may go to their polling place on Election Day because they're used to doing that,” La Strada said, “but we're going to run a good campaign, we’re utilizing all our social media, we're utilizing the newspaper, and the radio. We did with this last election in November, and it works out well for elections that are just one issue, so just come here.”
Filing is already over for the April 2 municipal election, La Strada said, an election to be held at people’s normal polling places.
“April will proceed like normal business,” La Strada said. “Six weeks of absentee voting, come here to the election’s office. You can vote 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Election Day, polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.”
To ensure you can cast a ballot, La Strada urges people to bring proper identification to pass more stringent voter ID laws.
“The valid photo ID is a federal photo ID or Missouri driver's license,” La Strada said. “Because that has passed, just make sure you bring that photo ID when you go vote and then I always say bring your voter registration card as well.”
The last day to request an absentee ballot for the Feb. 6 election is Jan. 24. If you feel you can't make it to the annex, you can go to the clerk’s website and fill out and email the application. Once it is received, the clerk’s office will rectify and reconcile the signature and send you a ballot.
Prior to the Feb. 6 election, the elections office will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 for early voting.
“Which is nice as some people work during the week,” La Strada said. “So, no excuse at all, you’ve got six weeks here. People are in and out, we offer curbside voting, we do everything to ensure we give that regular treatment. But we just want to emphasize that it is a one-issue ballot for February.
“However, moving into the April 2 (municipal election), we're not completely done because certification is not till Jan. 23,” he added.
The City of Sedalia has an initiative on the April ballot for City Council seats to be extended from a two-year term to a four-year term. The council seats that are up for reelection this year are uncontested, though there will be a slot on the ballot for write-in candidates.
“We do have a couple of school boards, a general obligation bond for Smithton,” La Strada noted. “Hughesville, they have a levy that they have a renewal for that's a five-year sunset. We have a pocket of Knob Noster in there, too. State Fair Community College is going to be contested, then we have Pettis County Ambulance District 3 that's contested.”
La Strada summed up April 2 as a smaller election compared to previous years, but an election with some significant possible outcomes.
“I think, as of right now, the biggest, hottest race would be State Fair Community College,” La Strada said. “So it's a vote for two and there's three people that are running as of right now.”
Final certification for the April election will not be completed until Jan. 23. The Pettis County Clerk’s Office will send out reminder cards prior to each election in hopes of everyone turning out to vote.
Chris Howell can be reached at 660-530-0146.
