Thousands of Missourians, many waiting in long lines, cast their ballots Tuesday as in-person, no-excuse voting began ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Election officials expect more than 70% of Missouri鈥檚 registered voters to vote this election 鈥 and as many as one in five could cast their ballots early.
鈥淚t does feel like the floodgates opened and that people were prepared to vote today,鈥 said Eric Fey, the Democratic director of elections for St. 不良研究所导航网址 County.
More than 15,000 people voted in-person in St. 不良研究所导航网址 County on Tuesday.
Officials with St. 不良研究所导航网址 city did not respond to interview requests.
In Jefferson County, Clerk Jeannie Goff said there was a dramatic increase 鈥 800% 鈥 in the number of voters casting ballots on the first day of early voting compared to 2022. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 900 voters had cast their ballots 鈥 up from the 96 who voted on the first day of early voting two years ago.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e had a line all day, and people didn鈥檛 seem to mind,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey just didn鈥檛 want to stand in a line on Election Day.鈥
Goff anticipates the numbers will grow. In 2022, about 12,000 people voted early during the six days leading up to the November鈥檚 general election.
Polling places across St. Charles County also saw long lines, according to Elections Director Kurt Bahr. About 3,500 people voted in-person on Tuesday. That鈥檚 in addition to the voters who cast their ballots through traditional absentee voting, which requires returning a notarized ballot to the clerk鈥檚 office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
No-excuse absentee voting continues through Nov. 4, the day before the general election.
The St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Board of Elections allows early voting at 14 sites. More information, including a list of sites and hours of operation, is available on the St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Election Board , .
In St. Charles County, no-excuse absentee voting is available at the election authority headquarters, 397 Turner Boulevard, in St. Peters; and at Element Church, 100 Mall Parkway No. 500 in Wentzville.
The city of St. 不良研究所导航网址 has eight sites for early voting, including the Election Board headquarters at 300 North Tucker Boulevard. You can find a list of sites on the election board’s , .