Paquin, Oak Towers will be polling places on Tuesday

After dropping them in the April elections due to historically low turnout, Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks said Wednesday that Oak and Paquin Towers will be polling locations for the August primary and November elections.

“Back in April I had seven or eight meetings with…a lot of individual and different groups,” he said. “I promised to add back those polling places.”

Burks said he’s expected a “much higher turnout” for this election so the polling places were needed.

The August 2016 primary saw an almost 30 percent turnout, but this year Burks is predicting about 35 percent, due to the highly publicized Proposition A ballot measure.

“Proposition A has seen a lot of money spent from opponents of it and then proponents have spent about $5 million in the last few weeks,” he said. “When you spend more money on an issue, people tend to become more aware of the election and decide to show up and vote.”

Absentee voting is still an option for those who will not be able to vote next Tuesday. Folks can go to the Boone County Government Center where the clerk’s office is, request an absentee ballot, and vote right there in the office.

“We keep that until election day when we have a bipartisan team that will open and count them,” said Burks. “We’re open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for anyone who wants to come in and vote absentee.”

Missouri’s Voter ID law is also in full effect. If voters don’t have a valid photo ID, they can bring a voter card, bank statement, or utilities statement for identification but they will have to sign an affidavit in lieu of an official photo ID.

If someone doesn’t have any form of ID, Burks said they can fill out a provisional ballot and they’ll double check the voter’s identity later.

A change in address can be easily fixed by the clerk’s office. You can click this link to change your address.

ABC 17 News reached out to Cole County to find out more information about its process, but has not heard back yet.