ELECTIONS 2020 -
>>> General Election
Results November 3, 2020
>>>
August 4, 2020 Election Results
>>> Polling
Place Locations
C-T, February 26, 2020 (SEE
UPDATED INFORMATION BELOW)
By Angie Talken
At 8 a.m., Tuesday,
February 25, 2020, filing for elected county seats began for the August primary and
November General Election for the offices of assessor, collector-treasurer, public administrator, east district commissioner, west district commissioner, sheriff, coroner, and surveyor. As of deadline, the following
candidates had filed for office: David Mapel, incumbent, Republican, west district commissioner; Alvin R. Thompson, incumbent, Republican, east district commissioner; Roger Barnes, Republican, east district commissioner; Diana L. Havens, Republican, collector-treasurer; Kaley Ann Holmes, Republican, collector-treasurer; Steve Ripley, incumbent, Democrat, assessor; Steve Cox, incumbent, Republican, sheriff; and Joshua Dennis, Republican, coroner. Sources have stated Scott Lindley, incumbent, Democrat, plans to file for the office of coroner.
Shown is Sherry Parks, Livingston County clerk and election
authority; Holmes, Ripley, Cox, Havens; and (back row), Mapel and
Barnes. Filing will remain open until 5 p.m. on March 31. C-T PHOTO,
Angie Talken
UPDATES:
Three more candidates have filed for county seats in the August 4 primary election.
David Beck, Republican, has filed for the seat of Rich Hill Township Committeeman; Karie Black, Republican,
has filed for Jackson Township Committeewoman; and Rusty Black, Republican, has filed for Jackson Township Committeeman.
03 18 2020 - Gov. Mike Parson ordered today that Municipal elections in Missouri will be held June 2 instead of the regular election date of April 7 as part of the
state's effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. The order directs local election authorities to maintain some dates for the election process, so voter registration, which closed March 11, will not be re-opened. And the date for declaring write-in candidacies will remain March 27; and only people who will be 18 or older by April 7 will be allowed to vote. But other deadlines will be shifted closer to the election, with the last day to apply for an absentee ballot set at May 20, the deadline for casting in-person absentee ballots will be June 1, and military personnel must apply for a mail-in ballot by May 29. Ballots already printed for the April 7 election may be used at the postponed date of June 2, the order states. The election order does not address whether the partisan primaries scheduled for August will be delayed.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Public school board seats, two tax issues on June 2 ballot
By Paul Sturm, The Constitution-Tribune
Contextually and procedurally, the same as it was to have been a month ago, but logistically slightly different, Livingston
County's annual public school district elections, along with a couple of community governing board and tax-related special-issue votes, are on track to go forward as re-planned early next month.
Normally held on a legally- mandated early April Tuesday, but delayed due to transmission-mitigation procedures related to the COVID-19 pandemic which then was in its early stages of sweeping across the United States, the polling to elect
- either in whole or in part - public school board members for districts whose boundaries include any residents of the county was reset in mid-March to Tuesday, June 2, and remains due to occur then, Sherry Parks, Livingston County clerk, confirms.
"I would have predicted about a 30 percent turnout (had the election occurred at its normal
time)," Parks recently told the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune.
"I am still optimistic we’ll be around 30."
- Next month’s elections
- some outcomes of which will depend, due to geography, also on balloting in
neighboring counties - will include election of multiple members of public school
districts' respective boards of education, among them the Chillicothe R-2, Livingston R-3 (Chula area), Breckenridge (Caldwell County) R-1, Grundy County R-9 (Trenton), and Hale (Carroll County R-1) districts.
- In addition, there will be tax proposals on the ballot from both the Chillicothe school district and
city of
Chillicothe.
- Rounding out the list of matters on which at least some Livingston County voters will pass judgment are selection of community board members for Utica and Chula.
One thing to note, regarding the delay in the vote, is that voter eligibility is based on the deadlines which would have applied had the election occurred last month. If a person was not eligible to vote by the pre-April date deadline, they cannot vote in June.
The only variation which applies to the delayed vote is the deadline for casting an absentee ballot.
"People can continue to vote absentee until June 1 at 5
p.m.," Parks disclosed. Parks noted during her April interview,
"We're not seeing more people vote absentee at this
point." In a follow-up conversation this past Monday, she reiterated that observation.
The clerk reminded that Missouri does not have the
"no-excuse absentee" legal provision some states have, which would allow advance voting
for any reason, including convenience. "There are certain reasons you can vote
absentee," she stated. "Right now, you can't just vote absentee because you want
to."
For those who believe they have a qualifying need to vote ahead of time, Parks shared some important information Monday. The deadline for an application for an absentee ballot to be mailed will be Wednesday, May 20, 5 p.m. That is to allow time for the application to be examined and, if approved, the ballot to be mailed. The deadline for the completed ballot to be counted is 7 p.m. on election day, June 2.
In-person absentee voting can be done at the Livingston County courthouse in Chillicothe during
"normal" business hours. Anyone needing to do that should go to the courthouse (entering the lobby area through the north doors) during business hours, bringing their voter registration and personal identification with them.
The security official stationed in the lobby will greet the would-be voter and communicate their request to the
clerk's office, whose personnel then will come down from the second floor to assist the person(s).
In addition to the
Monday-to-Friday opportunity (except for the May 25 Memorial Day holiday observance) to absentee vote between now and June 1, Parks and her staff will be available at the courthouse for four hours on Saturday, May 30, to accomplish that in-person ballot casting. The hours that day will be 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Once the actual election day comes around on June 2, a few county voting precincts will have different polling places for this election only, Parks advised.
Both Chillicothe Township and Rich Hill Township voters should report to the Chillicothe United Methodist Church, 1414 Walnut St., this time, after voting at the
Farmers' Electric Cooperative building last April. Similarly, the
county's Green, Monroe, and Mooresville townships which routinely share a single voting location will continue to do
so but at a different site. Their polling place next month will be the Jenkins Community Center at Dawn. That is a change from the previous Mooresville Community Center location.
"Any voter whose polling place has changed will be sent a letter to that effect at least one week in
advance," the clerk stressed. "They should receive the letter in the latter part of
May."
Once at a polling place on June 2, Parks notes precautionary health measures will be taken to help protect voters and poll workers.
The number of persons inside the polling location at any one time will be restricted, likely to the 10 or fewer which have been the guideline through the past 6-8 weeks.
Poll workers will take steps to regularly make sure surfaces and voting instruments are cleaned and disinfected.
Poll workers, judges, and voters will be required to observe
"social distancing" procedures (keeping at least six feet or some manner of physical barrier between them to lessen the chances of virus transmission).
Hand sanitization opportunities also are planned to be made available at each location.
"I am making the adjustments I can," Parks noted.
"We will still practice the 'social distancing,' the 10 or fewer (persons) in the polling place.
"We'll do everything that complies with any order which is in effect at the time. If
there's not an order at that time, we are still going to practice some of the things we’re practicing during the order, because I think it will be too soon to know if
it's gone."
Saturday, May 16, 2020
- Livingston County Clerk Sherry Parks recently issued a press release reminding the voters that absentee ballots are available for the June 2 Municipal Election. Anyone needing an absentee ballot may contact the
clerk's office to inquire about the process. The clerk's office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The deadline to request to have a ballot mailed is at 5 p.m., on May 20. The
clerk's office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30. Special arrangements for absentee voting can be made by calling the
clerk's office at 660-646-8000, ext. 3. Presiding Commissioner Ed Douglas said that residents who have business at the courthouse that cannot be completed by phone or email
- especially those with absentee voting needs - can come into the courthouse.
"Particularly with voting season being here, we are asking anyone who has business they have to complete in the courthouse to go to the
door where a staff member will greet them, and then they will call the office the person has business to
complete," he said noting that then that office will send a representative down to speak with the individual or a staff member will come to escort them to the office.
Starting Friday, if those entering do not have a mask, one will be provided, and all staff will be wearing masks. |
