Provisional ballots cause no problems in area

Missouri's first-time use of provisional ballots didn't muddy Tuesday's election results or create confusion at the polls, state election officials said Wednesday.

"It went exceptionally well," said Spence Jackson, spokesman for Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt who had championed provisional voting as part of the state's new election law.

"It was designed to ensure the rights of registered voters in the event they are removed from the voter rolls through no fault of their own," Jackson said. "The system worked fine."

In all, 3,505 people whose eligibility was in question cast provisional ballots statewide. St. Louis County led the way with 1,305 provisional ballots cast. Kansas City had 898 provisional ballots cast, Jackson said.

A day after the election, it was unclear how many of those provisional ballots would turn out to be valid votes, he said.

Few provisional ballots were cast in Cape Girardeau County and the surrounding area. Cape Girardeau County had four provisional ballots cast, all in the city of Cape Girardeau. Local election officials mistakenly reported on election night that five provisional ballots were cast.

Bollinger County had six provisional ballots cast. None were cast in Perry and Scott counties.

Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor said election judges saw only three people whose eligibility was in question. All three cases were resolved at the polls so no provisional ballots had to be cast, he said. In only one case was the individual found to be a valid voter, he said.

'Fairly simple procedure'

Patty Schlosser, elections supervisor in Cape Girardeau County, said it took election judges only 15 to 20 minutes on Wednesday to check voter records and determine that the four individuals who cast provisional ballots in the city of Cape Girardeau weren't registered.

"It was a fairly simple procedure," she said.

Blunt suggested only days before the election that it could take several days to determine the eligibility of provisional voters in counties across the state, which could mean delays in deciding tight races such as the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Jean Carnahan and Republican Jim Talent.

As it turned out, there weren't enough provisional ballots cast to impact that race or any other state or federal contest in Missouri.

Under the state's new election law, persons whose eligibility to vote can't be determined at the polls are allowed to cast provisional ballots. The paper ballots are sealed in special envelopes and counted separately if it is determined later that they were valid votes.

The provisional ballots allow individuals to vote only for federal and statewide candidates and on statewide issues.

Jackson said state election officials weren't surprised that the provisional balloting system worked well. "We never really thought that it would get as out of hand as some people predicted," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123