Record numbers in absentee voting - tell us what you are hearing

­There are many reports throughout the state that absentee voting in Missouri is bigger than in years past.  From KSDK:

A record number of Missourians are voting absentee, causing long waits at some polling places already.

Personal account from Fired Up contributor Glic (via Daily Kos):

Yesterday I went to vote absentee since I will be out of St Louis County on election day. I waited for about 50 minutes start to finish, with a good part of that line outside in a cold wind.

Fired Up! Missouri has also received a report that folks who are unable to vote on Election Day were in long lines to vote absentee in St. Louis County on Monday and that someone from the Board of Elections came out and allegedly told voters in line: "We do not have early voting.  You need to go home." Some voters apparently left and returned on Tuesday to even longer lines there but unfortunately didn't have enough time to stay and vote.

What are your experiences?  Please post your reports in the comments thread.

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Submitted by General Content on October 29, 2008 - 10:50am

The line is longer than ever today (Fri) in STL County

Submitted by Glic on October 31, 2008 - 11:21am.

It is moving faster, however, as they appear to have added some machines.

The people in line have been overwhelmingly for Obama. Earlier in the week I would have estimate 60-40 Obama, but today I would guess it was about 70-30 Obama. I ran out of volunteer sheets for people to GOTV this weekend and Monday.

The official does come out every once in awhile and reiterate that Missouri does not have "early voting", that it's absentee only for one of the reasons allowed by law.

 

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STL County: line already formed at 6:20am this morning

Submitted by Glic on October 31, 2008 - 8:28am.

I am heading back there to sign up GOTV volunteers for this weekend and am expecting long lines again. I'll let you know.

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St. Louis County absentee

Submitted by Jumada on October 29, 2008 - 4:54pm.

I voted last Friday in St. Louis County and from start to finish it was about 35 minutes. Very organized.

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St. Louis County absentee experience

Submitted by progressive on October 29, 2008 - 2:56pm.

From a friend:

A friend of mine who is going to be out of town on Tuesday voted absentee at the
StL County office around 1:30pm today.  He said it took him a little over 2
hours to vote.  The line outside consisted mostly of people trying to vote
absentee but there were also a few people trying to drop off or pick up mail-in
absentee ballots.  It was unclear where to go if you were there to do something
other than vote absentee in person or if you just had questions.  Once inside,
there were 6 workers taking care of absentee procedures.  Once approved, those
folks directed voters to another line which led to the booths with the touch
screens.  He said there were approx 20 booths with 3 poll workers present, but
he overheard one of the workers say they had just set up additional booths in
another room. 

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I thought they must have added more booths...

Submitted by Glic on October 30, 2008 - 7:03pm.

I've been out there every day this week signing up people to GOTV this weekend and Monday.

The line seemed to be moving faster today and I wondered if they had added more.

The line is getting longer each day and earlier in the day.

I've signed up a bunch of people and for every 1 that I sign up, about 7 or so are already scheduled to work a shift this weekend.

The crowd is cheerful for the most part. I had some snippy comments from people who thought I was too close (I was about 75- 100 feet away and the statute says 25 feet from the outer door). One lady asked me  "Did you measure?" I gave it a long slow look from the door, past the long line of people, to the 100 or so feet away where we were standing and said "Yes."

The volume of people they are moving through there each day is astonishing. I would imagine that the record for absentee ballots cast was either broken today or will be broken tomorrow.

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Greene, Christian counties also seeing record absentee turnout

Submitted by DemCat on October 29, 2008 - 1:24pm.

 From yesterday's News-Leader:

As election officials gear up for a hectic Nov. 4, many are already swamped with record-setting absentee voting. Greene County officials have issued 8,000 absentee voting forms, and walk-in absentee voters are still stopping by in droves -- more than 200 on some days. The number of absentee ballots filed this year in Greene County has already surpassed the 7,900 cast in the 2004 presidential race, said Greene County Clerk Richard Struckhoff…

…Christian County has already broken the record for absentees it set in 2004, said Chief Deputy Clerk Norma Ryan. So far, the county has [already] seen more than 2,410 absentees register --compared with the 2,023 that voted absentee four years ago…

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810280394

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Even in Neosho...

Submitted by DemCat on October 29, 2008 - 12:18pm.

"Absentee balloting ‘crazy’"

http://www.neoshodailynews.com/news/x1157500639/Absentee-balloting-crazy

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Voting in S. County

Submitted by southcountymike on October 29, 2008 - 12:16pm.

I voted on Monday the 20th at the election office. It took me about 30 minutes. The line coordinator told us that by this time the line would stretch to the end of the building. They have been expecting this.

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Long line in KC

Submitted by erogers on October 29, 2008 - 10:57am.

KC has setup several satellite locations for absentee voting. I tried the Plaza Library last night, but the line was too long. The library had setup a long line of chairs for people trying to vote.

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