No major changes to be made to local election security as other states worry about potential unrest
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As some other states are bracing for potential unrest on Tuesday, officials from Boone and Cole counties expect no major hiccups.
CNN reports that Washington state and Oregon have National Guard troops on standby after ballot drop-off locations were set on fire last month. The Associated Press reports that some election offices in states like Georgia are protected by bulletproof glass.
In Mid-Missouri, the Boone County and Cole County clerks are preparing for Election Day with no major changes to in-person voting security.
"We have open lines of communication with our law enforcement, we make sure that our election judges feel safe and prepared and they are very good at conflict de-escalation," Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said. "I anticipate it being the same as most other election days"
Like in previous years, the Cole County Sheriff's Office will patrol voting locations to reassure voters. They will also stay in touch with other law enforcement agencies in case of any issues.
"We're all aware of what Election Day is and what can happen, so we make sure we talk with each other so we all know what's going on and we all can react appropriately," Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said.
Wheeler similarly doesn't expect any differences in voter behavior compared to previous years. However, the Cole County Sheriff's Office, along with other first responders, is staying diligent during election time.
"We always try to look to the future on some maybe not necessarily worst-case scenarios, but some things that can go wrong," Wheeler said. "We try to prepare for that just to make sure that if something does come up and something does arise, we'd be able to react appropriately.
Wheeler asks both voters and any canvassers at voting locations to cooperate with poll workers and just "generally follow common sense." This means no political attire when voting and no interfering with other voters.
"There's no electioneering, so no hats, shirts or stickers or anything like that in a polling place for representing any political party, so if you have that, you'll have to turn it inside out or take it off," Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer said.
