Absentee voting sign. (Photo by Shannon Cay Bowers)

To read this story, please sign in with your email address and password.

You've read all your free stories this month. Subscribe now and unlock unlimited access to our stories, exclusive subscriber content, additional newsletters, invitations to special events, and more.


Subscribe

A special municipal election is coming up, and so are changes to polling locations for some voters in Springfield.

On Aug. 8, Springfield voters will head to the polls to decide on a proposed 3-percent tax on recreational marijuana sales in the city, after the City Council voted in May to put the measure on an otherwise-empty ballot.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m. on July 26. Voters can download the application, and email the completed form to the Greene County Clerk's Office via https://vote.greenecountymo.gov/. Absentee ballots by mail must then be completed and received by the Greene County Clerk’s Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Aug. 8.

The Greene County Clerk’s Office requires one of the following reasons to be included if voting absentee by mail:

  • Absence on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote;
  • Incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability on Election Day, including a person who is primarily responsible for the physical care of a person who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability and resides at the same address;
  • Religious belief or practice;
  • Employment as an election authority or by an election authority at a location other than such voter’s polling place, a first responder, a health care worker, or a member of law enforcement;
  • Incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained;
  • Certified participation in the address confidentiality program established under RSMo 589.660 to 589.681 because of safety concerns.

In-person, no-excuse absentee voting will take place at two Springfield locations: the Greene County Elections Center, located at 1126 N. Boonville Ave., and the Library Center, located at 4653 S. Campbell Ave. In-person absentee voters are not required to give a reason for doing so.

The Greene County Elections Center is open for in-person, no excuse absentee voting Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. up through Aug. 7, as well as 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5. The Library Center location will be open from Aug. 1-4 and Aug. 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The County Clerk’s Office also announced a slate of temporary new polling locations for the upcoming elections:

  • Wilson CW: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at David Harrison Elementary School, located at 3055 W. Kildee Lane
  • Cherokee: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at Seminole Baptist Temple, located at 4221 S. National Ave.
  • 1st Center: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at Orchard Crest Baptist Church, located at 320 S. Orchard Crest Ave.
  • 2nd Campbell A & 2nd Campbell B: Eligible voters in these precincts will vote at Fire Station No. 8, located at 1405 S. Scenic Ave.
  • 1st N Campbell: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at Cooper Tennis Complex, located at 2331 E. Pythian St.
  • 2nd N Campbell: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at Crossway Baptist Church, located at 2900 N. Barnes Ave.
  • 3 rd N Campbell A: Eligible voters in this precinct will vote at The Library Station, located at 2535 N. Kansas Expy.

These changes have been made due to the size and scope of the election, according to a news release, and mailers have been sent to voters in relevant precincts to notify them of their temporary new polling location.

A sample ballot is available here.


Jack McGee

Jack McGee is the government affairs reporter at the Hauxeda. He previously covered politics and business for the Daily Citizen. He’s an MSU graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and a minor political science. Reach him at jmcgee@hauxeda.com or (417) 837-3663. More by Jack McGee