Introduction

STATE: Governor \| Lt. Governor \| Attorney General \| Treasurer \| 9th Dist. U.S. Congress \| 23rd Dist. State Rep. \| 25th Dist. State Rep.

COUNTY: Assessor \| Public Administrator \| Southern District Commissioner \| Other races

VOTER INFO Registering to vote: If you haven’t done this yet, it’s too late for this primary. In the future, you’ll need to be registered by the fourth Wednesday before an election. If you want to vote in the Nov. 4 general election, for example, you’ll have to register by Oct. 8. You can visit the Boone County clerk’s Web site for details on where and how to register. Where to vote: You can find your polling place at the clerk’s Web site as well. Click on the link “Find your polling place,” then type in your name. Your polling location will be provided. A list of all polling places is also available on the Web site. If you've moved since last election: You’ll need to file a change of address before you vote. You can do this at the clerk’s Web site by completing the “change of address” form online or printing the form and mailing it to Wendy S. Noren, Boone County Clerk, 801 E. Walnut St., Room 236, Columbia, MO 65201-7731. Another option is to simply mail in your name, old address, new address, mailing address (if different), date of birth, telephone number (optional), signature and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. When to vote: The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. What to take: Bring some form of identification to the polling location. Acceptable forms include a Boone County voter ID card, a driver’s license, a state-issued ID, an ID card from an institution of higher education, a federally issued identification such as a passport, a Social Security card, or a Medicaid or Medicare card, a copy of a current bank statement, a utility bill, or a government document that shows your name and address. What to expect: Boone County’s optical scan voting system requires the voter to darken a circle next to the candidate they choose. In the primary election, voters must request a party-specific ballot. Some polling places also will have electronic voting machines. If you can't go: Absentee ballots are available for those unable to vote in person on Tuesday because of a temporary absence from the county, religious beliefs, military service, incarceration (but retained voting privileges) or confinement due to injury or illness. You can apply for an absentee ballot through the Elections Division of the Boone County Clerk’s Office or vote in person in the office until 5 p.m. the day before the election. For more information: Call the voter information hot line at 875-8683.	CANDIDATES PREPARE FOR PRIMARIES By CATHERINE MCCOMB news@columbiamissourian.com COLUMBIA — Tuesday will mark both a beginning and an end. For months, candidates for public office across Missouri and Boone County have been knocking on doors, filling out forms, holding fundraisers and attending forums in an effort to win their parties’ nominations for political offices at all levels. And on Tuesday, voters will have the final say. Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren expects about 32,000 voters to cast the ballots that will determine who will move on to November’s general election. In a handful of races in which only one party has offered up candidates, the primary will decide the winner. Democrat and Republican party operatives believe the primary will be energized. “I’m expecting a big turnout,” said Scott Cristal, vice president of publicity for the Boone County Democratic Central Committee. “There’s been a lot of support.” “It’s going to be a tough year to be a Republican,” said Russ Duker, chairman of the Boone County Republicans. “I think that a lot of people have problems with the national leadership, the president in particular.” Duker said the Democratic Party has more “pent-up momentum” on a national level, but the Missouri Republican Party has done a “wonderful” job of balancing the state budget. Still, he said, “It’s going to be hard to overcome what’s been happening on a federal level.” Republican candidates have been working to do so. Like the Democrats, they’ve held countless fundraisers and meet-and-greets, and have attended debates and untold numbers of community events. Both parties had a booth at the Boone County Fair, where they could reach people who otherwise might not be engaged. “There’s a lot of people that will be voting, hopefully,” Duker said. “If they’re not showing up at political events, they might be at the fair.” The Libertarian Party has been active as well. It, too, had a presence at the fair, and it has fielded candidates in several races. But John Schultz, of Perche Township and chairman of the Boone County Libertarian Party, said he wouldn’t be surprised if people who plan to vote Libertarian in the general election pick up Democratic or Republican ballots on Tuesday, because there are no contested Libertarian primaries. “It’s a good old democracy at work,” he said. “I don’t care, really, who people vote for, as long as they go to the polls informed.” The Constitution Party won’t have a primary ballot, but will put up candidates in November for president, vice-president, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state treasurer. “We can’t wait until Aug. 5 is over,” said Donna Ivanovich, chairwoman of the Constitution Party of Missouri. “Then we can really get serious.”

VOTER INFO

Registering to vote:

If you haven’t done this yet, it’s too late for this primary. In the future, you’ll need to be registered by the fourth Wednesday before an election. If you want to vote in the Nov. 4 general election, for example, you’ll have to register by Oct. 8. You can visit the Boone County clerk’s Web site for details on where and how to register.

Where to vote:

You can find your polling place at the clerk’s Web site as well. Click on the link “Find your polling place,” then type in your name. Your polling location will be provided. A list of all polling places is also available on the Web site.

If you've moved since last election:

You’ll need to file a change of address before you vote. You can do this at the clerk’s Web site by completing the “change of address” form online or printing the form and mailing it to Wendy S. Noren, Boone County Clerk, 801 E. Walnut St., Room 236, Columbia, MO 65201-7731. Another option is to simply mail in your name, old address, new address, mailing address (if different), date of birth, telephone number (optional), signature and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number.

When to vote:

The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

What to take:

Bring some form of identification to the polling location. Acceptable forms include a Boone County voter ID card, a driver’s license, a state-issued ID, an ID card from an institution of higher education, a federally issued identification such as a passport, a Social Security card, or a Medicaid or Medicare card, a copy of a current bank statement, a utility bill, or a government document that shows your name and address.

What to expect:

Boone County’s optical scan voting system requires the voter to darken a circle next to the candidate they choose. In the primary election, voters must request a party-specific ballot. Some polling places also will have electronic voting machines.

If you can't go:

Absentee ballots are available for those unable to vote in person on Tuesday because of a temporary absence from the county, religious beliefs, military service, incarceration (but retained voting privileges) or confinement due to injury or illness. You can apply for an absentee ballot through the Elections Division of the Boone County Clerk’s Office or vote in person in the office until 5 p.m. the day before the election.

For more information:

Call the voter information hot line at 875-8683.

CANDIDATES PREPARE FOR PRIMARIES

By CATHERINE MCCOMB
news@columbiamissourian.com

COLUMBIA — Tuesday will mark both a beginning and an end.
For months, candidates for public office across Missouri and Boone County have been knocking on doors, filling out forms, holding fundraisers and attending forums in an effort to win their parties’ nominations for political offices at all levels. And on Tuesday, voters will have the final say.

Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren expects about 32,000 voters to cast the ballots that will determine who will move on to November’s general election. In a handful of races in which only one party has offered up candidates, the primary will decide the winner.
Democrat and Republican party operatives believe the primary will be energized.

“I’m expecting a big turnout,” said Scott Cristal, vice president of publicity for the Boone County Democratic Central Committee. “There’s been a lot of support.”

“It’s going to be a tough year to be a Republican,” said Russ Duker, chairman of the Boone County Republicans. “I think that a lot of people have problems with the national leadership, the president in particular.”

Duker said the Democratic Party has more “pent-up momentum” on a national level, but the Missouri Republican Party has done a “wonderful” job of balancing the state budget. Still, he said, “It’s going to be hard to overcome what’s been happening on a federal level.”
Republican candidates have been working to do so. Like the Democrats, they’ve held countless fundraisers and meet-and-greets, and have attended debates and untold numbers of community events. Both parties had a booth at the Boone County Fair, where they could reach people who otherwise might not be engaged.

“There’s a lot of people that will be voting, hopefully,” Duker said. “If they’re not showing up at political events, they might be at the fair.”
The Libertarian Party has been active as well. It, too, had a presence at the fair, and it has fielded candidates in several races. But John Schultz, of Perche Township and chairman of the Boone County Libertarian Party, said he wouldn’t be surprised if people who plan to vote Libertarian in the general election pick up Democratic or Republican ballots on Tuesday, because there are no contested Libertarian primaries.

“It’s a good old democracy at work,” he said. “I don’t care, really, who people vote for, as long as they go to the polls informed.”
The Constitution Party won’t have a primary ballot, but will put up candidates in November for president, vice-president, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and state treasurer.

“We can’t wait until Aug. 5 is over,” said Donna Ivanovich, chairwoman of the Constitution Party of Missouri. “Then we can really get serious.”