Elections

Cape Girardeau resident Andy Leighton has filed as a Democratic candidate for the Missouri District 147 House seat. Currently in the seat is Republican state Rep. Kathy Swan, who was first elected to the position in 2012 and won her fourth two-year term in 2018. Swan cannot run for reelection to the seat due to term limits. She and state Rep. Holly Rehder are running for the Distract 27 state Senate seat...

Citing the “growing concern surrounding COVID-19,” Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed an executive order postponing municipal elections throughout the state, which had been slated for April 7, until June 2. The postponement affects several municipal and school board elections throughout Cape Girardeau County as well as several sales tax issues, including extension of the half-cent Transportation Trust Fund sales tax in Cape Girardeau and a new proposed countywide half-cent law enforcement and public safety sales tax. ...

Missouri voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the presidential preference primary election. Here’s where and when to find the polls in the area. According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s website, all polling locations across the state are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters in line at closing time have the right to cast votes. ...

Cape Girardeau County voters will soon have the chance to vote on an operating levy increasing the Nell Holcomb School District’s tax rate by 47 cents to $4.07. The levy will appear on the April 7 ballot for voters within the school district and could help meet some of the school’s immediate needs, including improvements to student safety, the purchase of two new buses, improvements to mathematics and science curriculum, updated technology and retaining small class sizes, according to the district.. ...

Ahead of the Missouri presidential primary March 10, some presidential candidate campaigns have begun canvassing in the Cape Girardeau area. Below are listed several presidential candidates' nearest field offices as well as any local canvassing efforts...

Races are beginning to form in Scott County for local county and state offices, but one race apparently won’t happen. Incumbent Sheriff Wes Drury refiled for the position as did challenger Carl Rose. On Wednesday, however, Rose issued a statement on his personal Facebook page saying he was withdrawing from the race...

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf faces at least one challenger in the Aug. 3 primary election: Teresa Cox Worthington, according to information from County Clerk Jared W. Kutz on Thursday afternoon. Public administrator Tammy Tarrillion will face challenger Jennifer Freeman...

Candidates seeking election to countywide offices were lined up outside the Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s Office door Tuesday morning, the first day of the filing period for the August primary election and November general election. By the end of the day, 10 office hopefuls — including six incumbent officeholders — had filed the necessary paperwork to qualify them for positions on the Aug. 4 Republican primary ballot. No one filed on the first day to be listed on the Democratic ballot...

Filing begins today for candidates seeking various offices in Cape Girardeau County, and several incumbent officeholders and at least one challenger plan to put their names on the ballot this morning. The Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s Office in Jackson will accept filings starting at 8 a.m. today for the Aug. 4 primary election...

At Thursday evening’s meeting of the SEMO Pachyderm Club presentations were given by Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson and former Missouri Department of Public Safety director Charles A. “Drew” Juden III. Dickerson is a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau County and has served in the sheriff’s department for more than 34 years. She announced her intent to seek reelection earlier this month...

Associate Circuit Judge Scott Lipke has announced his candidacy for Circuit Court judge, Division 1, in the 32nd Judicial Circuit. On Friday, Gov. Mike Parson appointed the present seatholder, Judge Michael Gardner, whose term would expire Dec. 31, to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District...

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted some women the right to vote, and of Feb. 14 of that year, the League of Women Voters was founded. The Southeast Missouri chapter is joining more than 750 chapters around the country in celebrating the 100-year milestone this year with a unified Day of Action on Friday, said Jill Young Rickard, chapter president...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson has been the county’s chief law enforcement officer for about a year and a half, and Wednesday she announced she wants to stay on the job for at least another four years. Speaking before a gathering of nearly 100 supporters at the Concourse in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday evening, Dickerson said she intends to file for reelection on the Republican ballot as the county’s first and only woman to ever serve as the county’s sheriff...

The candidates for Cape Girardeau City Council’s Ward 3 seat were officially determined Tuesday, setting the stage for the April 7 general election. About 5%t of registered Ward 3 voters turned out for Tuesday’s primary election, casting a total of 194 ballots...

Some Cape Girardeau voters will have a chance to choose a City Council member today. Voters in Ward 3 will choose from among three candidates. The top two vote-getters advance to the April general election ballot. The candidates are incumbent Nate Thomas, Renita Green and Bradley Tuschhoff...

Cape Girardeau County voters will soon receive new voter identification cards ahead of this year’s elections. The wallet-sized cards will be mailed to registered voters in the next few days and will replace all previously issued voter ID cards, the Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s Office said in a news release...