Absentee voting

St. Joseph News-Press

Many Missouri voters have played the game for years. They make up an excuse so they can cast an absentee ballot.

Hey, they might just be out of town on business. Sure, it is technically against the law. But it is also more convenient for everyone.

In fact, Gov. Matt Blunt believes no-excuse absentee voting could be Missouri's ticket to opening access to the polls at a low cost to taxpayers.

"This is a pragmatic way to achieve all of the objectives of early voting," Blunt told The Associated Press last week. The Republican, who was Missouri's secretary of state, also favors removing a requirement that absentee ballots be notarized.

A 2002 Missouri law mandates that local election officials come up with a plan for an early voting period, although a judge ruled last year that the law did not say the advance voting must be implemented. The law called for county clerks to open polling places around the county for a certain number of days before an election.

Absentee ballots can be cast at the clerk's office for the six weeks up to the day of the election, or voters can mail the ballots to the clerk.

New Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, told the AP that she has supported early voting. She is also worried that new guidelines for absentee ballots could be too costly for county clerks. Running multiple polling places around the county would also be very costly.

Opening up absentee voting deserves a chance to work. Many Missouri voters have already given the proposal a test run -- with their fingers crossed behind their backs.