Coronavirus concerns lead to more absentee, mail-in voting options in Cape County

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.

“Normally, there are six excuses to vote absentee,” said Summers, noting the most-often cited reason is being out of the county on Election Day.

The Legislature, in an agreement reached at 3 a.m. Friday, agreed to a seventh reason, allowing those who have “contracted COVID-19 or who are in an at-risk category for contracting or transmitting (the) coronavirus,” to cast an absentee ballot without a notarized signature.

High-risk voters, according to the new legislation, are:

• 65 and older;
• live in a licensed long-term care facility;
• have serious heart conditions;
• are immunocompromised;
• have diabetes;
• have chronic kidney disease and are undergoing dialysis;
• have liver disease.

Additionally, Missouri will now temporarily permit mail-in ballots but only if notarized.

“(The mail-in option) was unexpected,” Summers said.

“I did not know (mail-in) would be on the table,” she added.

Gov. Mike Parson has not signed the bill but is expected to do so.

“Voters should understand these changes do not apply to the June 2 municipal election,” said Summers, noting the original April 7 date was pushed back due to COVID-19 concerns.

The new absentee and mail-in options are for the Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general elections only, Summers said.

“(Missouri) elections have always been very secure,” she said, “so I’m excited to see how (mail-in) is going to work.”

State Rep. Kathy Swan (R-147) of Cape Girardeau, who is in a contested Senate primary race with state Rep. Holly Rehder (R-148) of Sikeston, said the bill has “common sense anti-fraud protections.

“The alternative, passing nothing, would have been a disservice to Missouri voters (because) it would have risked allowing a court to implement a more far-reaching policy without safeguards to protect the integrity of our elections,” Swan said.

Rehder echoed her opponent’s view.

“I’m comfortable with (the bill),” Rehder said.

“We have so many elderly in the high-risk category (and) I don’t want to oppress their votes in any way,” she said.

“This is an emergency situation,” said Rehder, “but I am not in favor of making (mail-in) permanent.”

Swan, like Rehder, is term-limited and neither can run again for the state House.

Both candidates are vying to replace similarly term-limited state Sen. Wayne Wallingford (R-27) of Cape Girardeau. Wallingford is running against businessman and former Cape Girardeau councilman John Voss in the Republican primary for Swan’s current seat in the lower chamber.

On Tuesday, the Missouri ACLU and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition appealed a lawsuit to the state supreme court seeking to allow all state residents to vote absentee for all future elections. The suit was thrown out Monday by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem.