Today, Feb. 21, begins the first day of absentee voting for the April 4 municipal election.
The municipal election will have Pettis County residents voting on a multitude of city council and school board elections and tax questions.
Pettis County Clerk Nick La Strada said absentee voting always begins six Tuesdays before any election. For the two weeks before the election, Missouri has no-excuse absentee voting; no-excuse voting began in Missouri during the November General Election.
“This past legislative session, it became a law that the last two Tuesdays prior to any election is no-excuse absentee voting,” La Strada said. “Pretty much what it is, is early voting.”
This will be the third election hosted in the clerk's new location, which has seen many happy voters due to no longer having to climb the Pettis County Courthouse stairs.
La Strada said there are many things on the ballot, including eight tax questions that will affect voters in various parts of the county.
“There will be some county-wide issues such as the marijuana tax and then the City of Sedalia has a marijuana tax too…” La Strada said. “Not everyone will be able to vote on every single tax issue.”
Two of the ballot questions deal with Cole Camp and La Monte school districts raising their district's tax levy, while Sedalia School District 200 is asking voters to make its existing tax levy permanent.
La Strada added that every Board of Education except Dresden School District has a contested election. Pettis County Ambulance District Sub-District 2, the Pettis County Health Center, and Sedalia City Council Ward 2 are also contested.
“Another unique thing that we’ve never had in our county is the water district that just touches Pettis, Henry and Johnson,” La Strada said. “We have a sliver of that which falls into our county and they have a revenue bond on the ballot…”
Another unique issue on the ballot is potentially expanding the Pettis County Fire Protection District’s boundaries to include all property formerly protected by the Houstonia Rural Fire Association.
“These are the elections that are so important because as we’re talking about all these tax issues and then annexations that will affect you moving forward,” La Strada said. “It’s a very exciting time for this upcoming election here in April.”
La Strada said he doesn’t know how the registered voter turnout will be for the April election due to the new no-excuse voting law but is hoping to see at least a 20% turnout.
“This will be the first general municipal election with the no-excuse absentee voting,” he said, adding that tax issues tend to bring out a lot of voters.
The 2022 midterm election in November saw almost precisely 50% of registered voters cast a ballot in Pettis County, which La Strada said is a decent turnout for an election.
“What’s nice to see is that people are getting more engaged than ever in these local elections,” La Strada said.
He reminded voters that they must provide a valid photo ID, which includes driver's licenses, passports and military IDs.
“As we draw nearer to the absentee voting period on Tuesday for the upcoming April 4, 2023, general municipal election, it is of paramount importance that we guarantee our citizens access to free and fair elections, as well as the right to cast their ballots in private,” La Strada said. “We are pleased to provide voting locations that ensure our voters the ability to cast their ballots in secrecy.”
The last day to register to vote in the April election is March 8. People can change their address even on Election Day if they moved within Pettis County, but anyone who moved from a different county is considered a new registration.
The last day to request a mailed absentee ballot is two Wednesdays before the election. The last day to absentee vote is Monday, April 3. The Clerk’s Office, 215 E. Fifth St. in Sedalia, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, absentee voting will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can find their polling location, check if they are registered, and view a sample ballot at pettisclerk.com. For more information, visit pettisclerk.com or facebook.com/PettisCountyElectionsOffice or call the Clerk’s office at 660-826-5000 ext. 400 or La Strada’s cellphone at 660-281-7767.
