Three Cape County towns holding elections Tuesday

Only three communities in Cape Girardeau County have reason to head to the polls in Tuesday's election.

Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Delta each have one question on the ballot, but Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said she hopes the lack of items won't keep voters from showing.

She said it's unlikely the communities will have a high turnout Tuesday.

"Looking at past elections of this type, it is probable we will have 8 to 10 percent turnout overall," Clark Summers said.

The county clerk's office still goes through all the same steps it would for any election in the county -- training election judges, setting up equipment and posting sample ballots and voting information before the election -- although the number of polling locations will be fewer than normal.

Another resource the county recently has started offering is a "Cape Girardeau County Elections" Facebook page.

"If people go on there, it's solely for elections," Clark Summers said.

The page shares election details such as sample ballots and the process of absentee voting. Election information and results also are available on the county website, capecounty.us.

Cape Girardeau also has been doing its part to keep the city's voters informed. It's asking voters to renew the next installment of the Transportation Trust Fund. The half-cent sales tax that pays for transportation projects on a "pay-as-you-go" basis has been approved by voters every five years since 1995.

Mayor Harry Rediger said several efforts have been made to reach voters. The city website has information on TTF and a list of projects to be funded by the latest renewal, plus an information campaign committee has been making the rounds delivering presentations to local organizations.

"The worst thing that I worry about is not that (voters) are not informed or not that they don't know there's an election next week, but that they get busy Monday night and Tuesday morning and forget to vote," Rediger said.

In an effort to combat that issue, he said a number of volunteers came together and organized a phone committee, which will make several phone calls Monday night to remind people to vote the next day.

The city of Jackson also has been doing its part to keep voters informed as they prepare to vote on a water bond issue, with information available on the city website. The city's aging water system has become a key point of concern, especially in the past year. City officials say narrow cast-iron pipes and water mains give residents and public entities such as the Jackson Fire Department inadequate and unreliable pressures and volumes.

The city's proposal to improve the system would add a well in the northwest part of town, a water tower on the east side of town and 21,355 feet of upgraded and new water mains. The question before voters Tuesday is whether to issue $11.5 million in revenue bonds. To repay the bonds, an increase in the city's water rates will be phased in over a six-year period, according to city documents, and sewer rates will not be increased.

Delta is the only other entity holding an election Tuesday. It's asking voters whether they wish to forgo annual elections if the number of candidates who have filed for a particular office is equal to the number of positions in the office to be filled by the election. Five other communities in Cape Girardeau County voted to approve the same question in April's election.

A change in state law in 2014 allowed cities, towns or villages with populations of 1,000 or fewer to stop putting uncontested races on the ballot if voters approved a related ordinance. For small towns that rarely see contested elections, it prevents them from spending money on election-related expenses.

Election authorities are required to publish notices with the names of the candidates assuming the office if no election is held. Approval of the measure means voters no longer have the option to write-in candidates.

Polls will open at 6 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m. Tuesday.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Jackson, Mo.

Delta, Mo.

Ballot questions

• Shall the city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, impose a sales tax of one-half of one percent for transportation purposes, such transportation sales tax to terminate automatically in five years?
• Shall the city of Jackson, Missouri, issue its combined waterworks and sewerage system revenue bonds in the amount of $11,500,000.00 for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, extending and improving the waterworks system of the city; the cost of operation and maintenance of said system and the principal of and interest on said revenue bonds to be payable solely from the revevues derived by the city from the operation of its combined waterworks and sewerage system, including all future extensions and improvements thereto?
• Shall the city of Delta, Missouri, be authorized to forgo annual elections if the number of candidates who have filed for a particular office is equal to the number of positions in the office to be filled by the election?