HERE'S WHAT WE SAID ABOUT 2000 ELECTION

Informed voters don't need newspaper editorials to tell them how to vote. Voters who have followed the issues, have engaged in the back-and-forth of the candidates and have read and listened carefully for more than a year know how they will vote on major races and issues when they go into the voting booth tomorrow.

But there are a number of less glamorous issues on Tuesday's ballot, which can make voting a confusing experience. For example, voters interested in the Jackson School District's bond issue will have to remember to go all the way to end of the punch card-ballot voting booklet, or they will miss it.

This is the first election in recent memory that the Southeast Missourian has engaged in editorializing for or against candidates. But this year's election is unlike any we can remember. Almost every race, from president of the United States down to many of our county races, is extremely tight.

It is no secret to our regular readers that we favor a conservative approach to government. And it is no secret that this approach generally -- but not always -- is espoused by Republicans. So when we endorsed some Republicans for key offices in tomorrow's election, it was no surprise to anyone.

But those editorials have, we believe, spurred some readers to examine their own positions and to solidify their own thinking in regard to candidates and issues. Judging by the letters to the editor and Speak Out comments we have received, there are thoughtful and informed voters out there. Some of them agree with us. Some of them don't.

Quite a number of readers have called to ask if the Southeast Missourian planned to publish a voting guide a handheld guide, if you will that voters could take to polling places to help them through the ballot maze. For what it's worth, here is a recap of the positions we have taken editorially on various but not all candidates and issues:

* President: George W. Bush. Bush supports education reforms, tax cuts, pro-life laws, the Second Amendment, a sound environmental policy, Social Security reform and parental choice for their children's schooling. These are programs that enjoy broad support from conservative-minded Americans, and they are programs that deserve a fair hearing in Congress and in the White House.

* U.S. senator: John Ashcroft. There has been no election so wrought with emotion and political second-guessing than this contest marred by a tragic airplane crash. Incumbent Ashcroft has continued to expound on programs that are important to Missourians. And he has served this state honorably and with distinction.

* Governor: Jim Talent. On issues such as education, the right to life, collective bargaining for public employees, school funding and transportation, Talent had adhered to well-reasoned policies that would move Missouri forward on several fronts.

* Proposition A: No. This proposal to ban new billboards along major highways mimics the concerns of out-of-state purists who are fighting to preserve natural scenery at all costs, including the cost of lost business for Missouri retailers, motel operators and countless other establishments that rely on outdoor advertising.

* Proposition B: No. Again, out-of-state special interests, intent on getting taxpayers to fund election campaigns across the country, have worked to get this ill-conceived measure on the ballot. It would force corporations to contribute to a slush fund some $50 million every two years from which candidates for state offices could withdraw. This is food stamps for politicians.

* Amendment No. 1: Yes. This amendment provides for Missouri to set aside no more than 10 percent of general revenue each year to be used in the event of any emergency certified by two-thirds of the legislature. Based on the current budget, it takes $46.6 million a day to keep the state going.

* Amendment No. 2: Yes/No. This amendment lets new members of organizations that sponsor bingo help run bingo games after being a member for six months. Currently, the Missouri Constitution requires a two-year waiting period. How Missourians cast their votes on this issue will depend in large part on their feelings for gambling in general.

* Amendment No. 3: Yes, but ... . This amendment attempts to improve a part of the state's constitution that is worthless to begin with. It deals with the Citizens Commission on Compensation of Elected Officials. Since its inception in 1994, the commission has bumbled miserably. This section of the constitution should be repealed, not fiddled with. But the fiddling is better than nothing for the time being.

* County planning and zoning: Yes. The good aspects of a limited proposal for orderly growth in unincorporated areas of fast-growing Cape Girardeau County have been overshadowed by the harsh -- and generally unfounded -- criticism from a small, but well-organized group of opponents, the same oponents who dominated every public hearing held on the issue, thereby depriving county residents an opportunity to learn more about the plan. The latest blow was an 11th-hour lawsuit whose only purpose was to nail down defeat for county P&Z by raising questions. Even the opponents admitted they would drop the lawsuit if the measure fails tomorrow -- a clear indication they have no interest in any of the points of law raised in their court petition.

* Jackson School District bond issue: Yes. Voters in this respected and growing school district have been through two defeats of proposals that called upon taxpayers to support much more than renovations to the jam-packed junior high school. But this third attempt to get voter approval was scaled back just to the pressing needs of the junior high school.

There is a highly qualified group of candidates seeking offices ranging from county coroner to state representative. These individuals are your neighbors and friends, for the most part, and most of them have made honest efforts to reach voters by door-to-door campaigning, mailed out information, advertising and yard signs. You know these folks better than anyone else, and you will be guided by that knowledge when you go into the voting booth. The important thing is that you exercise your right to vote in a free and democratic election.