Absentee Ballots Now Available for November Election

I, Roberta Owens, County Clerk, wish to inform all registered voters that absentee ballots are now available for the 2016 November General Election.  Anyone needing to vote absentee because of illness or absent from the polls on Election Day may do one of the following:

1) Submit a request in writing by mail or fax and include: name, address, mailing address if different, signature, date of birth, and the last four digits of their social security number, party ballot.

2) Call the office for an absentee application.

3) Vote in person in the County Clerk’s office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. along with identification ie: voter registration card, drivers license, utility bill, etc.

4) Go to County website at worthcounty.us and print the absentee form, fill it out, then mail it in.

The November 8th election is a General Election.  Therefore it is not necessary to include a party preference.

The final day to mail an absentee ballot to a voter is Wednesday, November 2nd .   The final day to vote absentee in person is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 7th in the County Clerk’s office.

The County Clerk’s office will be open Saturday November 5th from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. for absentee voters.

If you have any questions, contact Roberta Owens at 660-564-2219 or submit a written request for an absentee ballot to:  PO Box 450, MO 64456-0450 or fax a request to 660-564-2432.

Missouri’s Food for America President Breaks With Koster Over Ag Policies

In response to recent statements made at the recent Missouri Farm Bureau endorsement meeting by Democrat gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster; Wes Shoemyer, President of Missouri’s Food for America and former Missouri Democratic state senator announced he will seek a meeting with Republican gubernatorial candidate, Eric Greitens.
 
“I am extremely disappointed in Chris Koster. When he left the Republican Party and wanted to run as a Democrat for Missouri Attorney General, I was one of the first to endorse him, but his statements about being happy to support China’s Smithfield as it takes over the U.S. hog market tells me I made a big mistake,” explained Shoemyer. 
 
At the August Farm Bureau endorsement meeting, candidate Chris Koster reaffirmed his support for the advancement of industrial agriculture practices.  In outlining his reasons the Farm Bureau members should support him, Koster held up his support of Right to Farm claiming his endorsement had brought the thousand Democrat votes necessary to carry the narrow victory.  Shoemyer’s organization, Missouri’s Food for America was the lead organization fighting for the defeat of the August 2014 Amendment ballot measure.  Koster also reconfirmed his support of ending the ability of local citizens from insuring minimum health and welfare standards at the county level. Koster has had a long standing record in support of the advancement of industrial factory farming and its practices including fighting the tourist town of Arrow Rock and pushing legislation as a Republican state senator to take away local control from local counties in their ability to insure reasonable health and welfare safeguards for neighbors of industrial factory farms, CAFOs.
 
Missouri’s Food for America will also be reaching out to the candidates for Missouri Attorney General in an effort to understand their individual positions on Koster’s legal action against California’s Egg legislation. Which a judge has already indicated has been brought for a few special interests and has cost several $100,000 of taxpayers’ money.  Currently nearly 280,000,000 laying hens in the United States have less than a notebook size piece of paper space to exist.  The California statute requires all eggs sold into California markets meet the same animal welfare standards that California farmers are required to use.  The law requires laying hens to have enough room to lie down, stand up, turnaround and extend their wings. 
 
Shoemyer stated, “I don’t want another attorney general who plays checkers instead of chess.”  The issue isn’t just that God made animals to move and these hens should be able to move; in supporting the Farm Bureau’s policy against animal welfare issues, Koster misses the whole point.  The California law has brought economic opportunity to Missouri’s family farmers.  Because of California’s action, Missouri Family Farmers are being asked to raise the chickens to fill this large market.  It has meant millions of dollars in economic investment in our state.
 
Shoemyer concluded by stating, “If Koster and his Farm Bureau buddies think they will bring all the Democrats to the ballot box for a guaranteed victory, well they need to know I am one Democrat they don’t have. As Dad always said, ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’”

October 12th Final Day to Register to Vote for November

October 12 is the last day to register to vote in the November 8 election.   If you have moved or have had a name change, a visit to the polling place may take longer than anticipated.  In order to expedite your ability to vote, please notify the county clerk's office located in the courthouse if you have moved or had a name change. 

Voters are allowed to vote at one election under the old name without changing their voter registration after notifying the election judges of the name change.  If you have moved to a different address within the same county, you are permitted to change your registration address on Election Day at your new polling place.  It is recommended that you contact the county clerk with any address changes prior to Election Day in order to determine your assigned polling place.

In order to change your address if you move outside the boundaries of the election jurisdiction in which you were previously registered, you will need to fill out a new voter registration application.  Voter registration is available in the county clerk's office or online at www.sos.mo.gov/elections.

If you moved before the deadline to register for an election, you must complete your new registration prior to the registration deadline in order to be eligible to vote a full ballot in your new jurisdiction. If you moved after the registration deadline, you will be entitled to vote a limited ballot, containing only federal and statewide candidates and issues once you submit a completed voter registration application in person with the local election authority. People moving from one election jurisdiction to another prior to the registration deadline who fail to register to vote by the registration deadline will not be able to vote in that particular election.

If you moved to Missouri after the deadline to register for a presidential election, you are entitled to register and vote only a presidential and vice presidential ballot in your new jurisdiction.

Source: Missouri Secretary of State

Grant City Use Tax Question Passes; Complete Election Results

The Grant City Use Tax question passed with 89 Yes votes and 31 No votes. The following are the other contested results from today's voting:

DEMOCRATIC
US Senate:
Jason Kander 68, Chief Wana Dubie 11, Cori Bush 9, Robert Mack 8.

Governor:
Chris Koster 74, Eric Morrison 13, Charles Wheeler 9, Leonard Joseph Steinman II 4.

Lt. Governor:
Russ Carnahan 78, Tommie Pierson Sr. 11, Winston Apple 8.

Secretary of State:
Robin Smith 62, Bill Clinton Young (no relation to the former President) 27, M.D. Rabbi Alam 5.

State Treasurer:
Judy Baker 67, Pat Contreras 29.

Attorney General:
Teresa Hensley 63, Jake Zimmerman 34.

6th District Congressman:
David Blackwell 29, Kyle Yarber 29, Travis Gonzalez 10, Mather McNabney 10, Edward Dwayne Fields 9.

REPUBLICAN
US Senate:
Roy Blunt 217, Kristi Nichols 63, Bernie Mowinski 13, Ryan Luethy 11.

Governor:
Eric Greitens 137, Peter Kinder 70, John Brunner 52, Catherine Hanaway 50.

Lt. Governor:
Mike Parson 159, Bev Randles 114, Arnie (A.C.) Dienoff 14.

Secretary of State:
John (Jay) Ashcroft 200, Will Kraus 91, Roi Chinn 10.

Attorney General:
Josh Hawley 160, Kurt Schaefer 135

6th District Congressman:
Sam Graves 236, Christopher Ryan 51, Kyle Reid 31.

A complete breakdown of today's voting by township will appear in next week's Sheridan Express.