Polls open Tuesday, with local, state, national leadership, issues on the line
Nov. 4—Baylor Doubet got his first taste of politics last week.
His parents, Caitlin and Zep Doubet, of Carthage, brought Baylor, 3, with them to the Jasper County Courthouse recently when they showed up to vote.
"My daughter is in second grade, and she's learning about the election process," Caitlyn Doubet said. "I thought if we could start early and teach them both that your voice matters, when he gets to the age when he can vote, he can make that decision himself."
"When he grows up, it's going to be his generation to kind of do his part in voting," Zep Doubet added. "If he sees us do it, it shows him the importance of voting. In all honesty, we didn't really start voting until 2020 just because I didn't look too far into the politics side of it and there are a lot of things I just didn't pay attention to. When I was younger, it didn't seem like my one vote really meant anything, but it could. Bringing him here gives him a chance to see it early and make his decision later how he wants to participate."
Voters by the millions will be out across the country Tuesday making their choices for president of the United States, U.S. senators and representatives, Missouri voters will elect a new governor and other state officials. They also will decide issues related to abortion, gambling, the minimum wage and more. County officials also are on the ballot.
Voters in Carthage's Ward 5 will decide whether to recall City Council member Tiffany Cossey. A "yes" vote removes her from office immediately, while a "no" vote allows her to serve out her term until April 2025.
Between 15% and 20% of voters in Newton and Jasper counties had already voted as of Monday, taking advantage of early voting options.
Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis said the number of people voting early in Jasper County reached 16,227 by early Monday afternoon and was still climbing. That number was up from 11,319 early voters Thursday and amounted to about 20% of registered voters in Jasper County.
Newton County Clerk Tami Owens said 6,349 people had voted early as of noon Tuesday in that county.
Davis said the high absentee and early voting turnout indicates total turnout could be a record high.
"We have to tell the secretary of state what our projected turnout might be, and we said about 70%," Davis said. "That's 70% of those who are active voters. We have a bunch of people who are ready to be removed from the voter rolls, but we're required to keep them on until after this election in case they happened to be overseas or in the military and they come back, so turnout will be more about 70 to 75% most likely."
Owens said Newton County voters have predictable patterns, so she's not sure that record absentee turnout will mean higher total turnout.
"The voter turnout in 2020 was right at 68% and some change," Owens said. "But in 2020, because we voted about 15% of the county through the courthouse, I thought our percentage of turnout would be higher. But what happened was the polling places were less busy because we voted more for the courthouse, so I think it will probably still be around 70 to 75%. I hope it's more."
Cindy and Bryan Richardson, of Webb City, were among those voting early last week, wanting to avoid crowds. They said they have been watching the campaigns and were ready to make their decisions.
"We try to watch both sides of the issues and all candidates," Cindy Richardson said.
"There are pluses and negatives to everything, and since we've voted, we're just watching what happens," Bryan Richardson added.
