Elections

It is just over a month until the next election. Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said voters will get some help soon sorting out all their options at the polls. “We’ll be sending a postcard next week to let everybody know what is available to do, not only in the Aug. 4 primary but the Nov. 3 general election, too,” she said...

The Missouri Ethics Commission has decided not to accept a complaint filed by former Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter against his opponent in the Aug. 4 primary, incumbent Wes Drury. The commission, in a letter to Walter dated June 25, said the challenger filed too late for consideration...

Former Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter is filing a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) against incumbent Sheriff Wes Drury. Both men are vying for the GOP nomination for sheriff in the Aug. 4 primary. In a news release dated Monday, Walter alleges Drury is “misusing county and taxpayer resources for his own personal and campaign gain and is violating Missouri’s campaign finance and conflict of interest laws.”...

Before a crowd of 30 people at the SEMO Pachyderm Club on Thursday evening, Republican candidates for Missouri Senate District 27 took turns touting their backgrounds and accomplishments ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election. Holly Rehder, 50, of Sikeston is term-limited after eight years representing District 148 of the Missouri House...

Not one but four regional school districts saw voters approve propositions that will variously fund upgrades and improvements at Nell Holcomb, Oran, Oak Ridge and Delta schools. ...

For the sixth time since 1995, Cape Girardeau voters Tuesday approved a half-cent sales tax to fund the city's transportation improvement projects on a pay-as-you-go basis. Transportation Trust Fund 6 won approval of 63.7% of city voters. TTF5, approved in 2015, won 73.4% of the vote...

Incumbent municipal officials in Cape Girardeau and Jackson held onto their seats Tuesday. In Cape Girardeau's Ward 3, Nathan Thomas edged Renita Green with 56% of the vote -- 325 to 254. Thomas was appointed to serve on the Cape Girardeau City Council in August after previous Ward 3 Councilman Victor Gunn moved to another ward. The short-tenured incumbent Thomas garnered 101 votes in the February primary. Green finished in a close-second with 73 votes to secure her place on Tuesday's ballot...

Area voters chose school board members and decided on tax proposals Tuesday, though only about one in 10 registered voters cast ballots. Jared Ritter was the top vote-getter for one of three seats on the public school district's board. He received 2,081 votes (27.9%)...

In the June 2 election, candidates are running for three-year school board terms in eight local school districts. There are four candidates running for three positions on the board of the 4,287-pupil district. Incumbent and Cape Central graduate Jared Ritter said he believes his experience as a student will be helpful to his service on the school board. A realtor, Ritter has served one term so far and said he enjoys contributing to the positive atmosphere of the school...

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers has a ready reaction to the Missouri General Assembly’s recent late-night compromise to give more people the chance to vote absentee or to mail in their ballots in August and November. “Under the circumstances, I’m glad voters have (more) options to be safe and also cast their ballots,” said Summers, who has been in office since 2007 as the county’s local election authority...

Voters in Cape Girardeau County have until Wednesday to complete a request to vote by mail in the June 2 election with an absentee ballot. About twice as many absentee ballots have been cast in Cape Girardeau County this year compared to past April elections, according to County Clerk Kara Clark Summers, and the window for absentee voting remains open...

Two Republican state lawmakers from Southeast Missouri, each elected to the Missouri House in 2012, and who both are co-owners of small businesses in similar industries, will square off for the same Senate seat in less than three months. As similar as Rep. Holly Rehder and Rep. Kathy Swan are in background and political outlook, they appear to differ in theory on the hot-button issue of a use tax on out-of-state internet purchases...

On most election days, county clerks and other election officials focus their attention on voting procedures and accurate ballot tallies. But this year they must also be mindful of health and safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Missourians were scheduled to vote April 7 in county, municipal and school board elections across the state. However, Election Day was postponed until June 2, when state officials hope the coronavirus crisis will have passed...