Absentee voting to start for April elections

Absentee voting begins Tuesday, six weeks before election day, in Missouri.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said the Show Me State has gone back to the usual rules for voting absentee.

"The at-risk provision for coronavirus, passed as a temporary measure by the Missouri Legislature, expired at the end of 2020," said Summers, clerk since 2007.

Absentee voting may be done at the county election board's main office at 1 Barton Square, third floor, in Jackson or at the satellite office, 2311 Bloomfield St., Suite 102, in Cape Girardeau, from Feb. 23 to April 5.

A voter may request an absentee ballot by mail until the second Wednesday prior to the election (before 5 p.m. March 24).

Contested school board races

• Cape Girardeau School District: Five candidates seek three-year terms, with two to be elected: incumbents Kyle McDonald and Marcia Lynn Ware and challengers Stephanie J. Price, Ramona Bailey and Paul M. Cairns.
• Jackson School District: Four candidates seek three-year terms, with two to be elected: incumbents Sheila J. King and Kelly Waller and challengers Richard Murray and Charles Jacob Wallgren.
• Oak Ridge School District: Three candidates seek three-year terms, with two to be elected: incumbent George R. Below and challengers Andrew Luke Seabaugh and Nathan Wallace Schilling.
• Delta School District: Three candidates seek three-year terms, with two to be elected: incumbent Amy Swain and challengers Victoria "Tori" Johnson and Ashley Anglin.
• Meadow Heights School District: Three candidates seek three-year terms, with two to be elected: incumbent Charlie Besher and challengers Wyatt Bollinger and Jenny Kent.

Jackson aldermanic races

In the City of Jackson, Mayor Dwain Hahs is unopposed as are Ward 1's Wanda Young and Ward 2's David Hitt.

In Ward 3, incumbent Katy Liley is opposed by Matthew Ellison.

In Ward 4, incumbent Tommy Kimbel is opposed by Steven A. Lee.

Health departments

In Cape Girardeau County, nine candidates seek four-year trustee terms, with three to be elected to the Public Health Center board: incumbents Emily Tuschhoff Collins, Georganne P. Syler and John M. Freeze and challengers J. Michael Davis, Nancy K. Johnson, Eric Becking, Matthew Uchtman, Carol Meza and Gerry Salter.

For a two-year unexpired term, incumbent Diane Howard is challenged by Cassidy M. Klein.

In Perry County, five candidates are on the ballot, with three to be elected for the health department board: Denise Morrison, Carol Unterreiner Moore, Carisa Stark, Alexandria Lueders and Keith A. Carroll.

For the Perry County Memorial Hospital board, three candidates are on the ballot, with one to be elected: William "Bill" Bohnert, Patrick A. Naeger and Sharon K. Unterreiner.

Ballot initiatives

• Advance School District seeks approval to borrow $1.5 million for infrastructure repairs and improvements, with no property tax change.
• Meadow Heights School District seeks approval to borrow $1 million to support Proposition SAFE (Students Are First Everyday), with no property tax change.
• Perry County Proposition COPS (Court Operations Police Sheriff) is proposed to fund a joint county/city justice center, with a sales tax increase.
• The villages of Allenville, Whitewater and Gordonville in Cape Girardeau County seek voter approval to forgo future elections if there are no contested races for particular village offices.