Speaking Personally, Signs don’t vote

Primary election day is in twenty days. What’s your plan to get to the polls? 

 

Did you know only about half of Howell County residents are registered voters? I’m too late to help you with that – the last day to register to vote in the primary was July 10. 

 

But did you know that a measly six-point-five percent (6.5%) of those more than 20,000 registered voters showed up at the general municipal election in April? We did slightly better the last time there was an August Primary. In 2022, there were more than 27,000 registered voters in the county, and a little more than twenty-two percent (22%) turned out to vote. 

 

This year’s primary season is easily one of the nastiest, most contested I have seen. Every major intersection bristles with campaign signs. 

 

But signs don’t vote. 

 

This August, we’re picking a sheriff for Howell County. We’re picking lawmakers to represent us in Jefferson City. We’re even choosing a new county commissioner. 

 

Sure -- some of the Republicans will go on to face a Democrat in November, but those are not serious races. In Missouri, August is the time to take politics quite seriously.

 

The winners of these elections will have the power to make decisions that affect your day-to-day life. Learn all you can about the candidates. They are all campaigning hard and are not difficult to find if you want an in-person one-on-one. 

 

Check out the recorded version of the Sheriff’s Candidate debate that will be online as of 6:00 p.m. July 16. There’s a debate for the legislative candidates too on July 25 at 6:00 p.m. in the Expo Hall of the Civic Center in West Plains. Attend in person or submit a question to editor@howellcountynews.com

 

If you can’t vote in person, no-excuse absentee voting begins on July 23, and you can request a mail-in ballot until July. No-excuse absentee voting allows you to vote in person for two weeks leading up to election day. You do not have to provide an excuse to vote this way. Just be sure to bring a photo ID because you cannot cast a provisional in-person absentee vote.

 

A nation watched in horror as presidential candidate was shot this weekend. These are historic times, and these elections matter, the local ones most of all. 

 

Cast your ballot on August 6.