Changes could confuse vote

~Missouri ballots no longer feature straight-party voting, though party symbols remain.

Whatever else you do in the voting booth today, don't circle the symbols.

Despite the fact that the party symbols -- the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant, the Independent Statue of Liberty and the Progressive leaf -- are still prominently displayed on the ballot, voters no longer have the option of voting a straight-party ticket.

"We're still required to show what the symbols are," said Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller. "But there are no ovals beside them."

If voters circle a symbol thinking that will be a vote for every candidate for that party, Miller said, the ballot will not be counted.

He admits the change could be confusing for voters. "But we're trying our best to let people know that there's no straight-party voting," Miller said.

Those efforts include educating election workers and putting signs in every voting booth that read: "Straight-party voting is no longer an option. You will need to mark the candidates you wish to vote for in every race."

Polls are open today from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Missouri lawmakers this year eliminated voting a straight-party ticket, which allowed voters to make a single mark in favor of all the candidates of a single party. But the portion of the law that requires the symbols to be on the ballot was not removed, Missouri Secretary of State spokesperson Stacie Temple said.

The change may also create longer waits at the polling places, Temple said, as voters may have to spend more time voting than if they were simply making one straight-party vote.

Temple hopes that won't happen. "If people know how they want to vote before they get there it shouldn't take much more time," she said.

Another point of confusion -- possibly among voters and election workers -- is whether photo identification is required to vote. The same bill that eliminated straight-party voting required voters to show a government-issued photo ID with a current address. But the Missouri Supreme Court later struck down that requirement, upholding a lower court ruling that the photo ID was an unconstitutional infringement on the right to vote.

But some election officials may not be clear on that issue. When Secretary of State Robin Carnahan tried to cast an absentee ballot Friday a worker at the St. Louis Election Board incorrectly asked her for a photo ID.

"To have that experience personally was very troubling," Carnahan said. "I want to make sure that voters are clear, that election authorities are clear, that the identification requirements are the same as they have been in previous years."

Temple said acceptable paperwork when voting includes a voter ID card, Missouri student ID, driver's or non-driver's licenses, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paychecks, U.S. passport or other government documents with the voter's name and address.

Miller said election workers have had two training sessions, both of which included informing them that the rules are the same as in previous years.

"We're hoping that things go fairly smoothly," Temple said. "We've made a lot of efforts to make sure that they're smooth. But at the end of the day, it falls with the local election officials."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137