Although a record number of voters are turning in ballots early thanks to expanded mail-in voting this year, next week’s election is still set to be the main event determining the outcome of …
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Although a record number of voters are turning in ballots early thanks to expanded mail-in voting this year, next week’s election is still set to be the main event determining the outcome of presidential, state and local issue elections.
While the vote for U.S. president weighs on the minds of most citizens, Missouri voters must also choose their governor. Incumbent Mike Parson, a Republican who succeeded to the office following Eric Greitens’ resignation, is challenged by Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway.
Missourians are also presented with competitive races for the statewide offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general, along with selecting U.S. Congressional representatives.
Two Missouri constitutional amendments are on the ballot. The first, Amendment 1, would place a two-term limit on the state offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor and attorney general. Currently, only the governor, state treasurer, and state legislators have term limits.
The next amendment, Amendment 3, would tighten rules on lobbyist gifts and campaign contribution limits, while partly reversing a new redistricting process approved by voters in 2018. Amendment 3 would take the process of redrawing Missouri’s political districts away from a nonpartisan demographer nominated by the state auditor, and return that process to bipartisan commissions made of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. It also changes redistricting criteria to prioritize compact districts built around existing communities.
Locally, residents of the Warrenton Fire Protection District are once again being asked to consider a half-cent sales tax to help fund the fire district. The district is in dire financial straights after years of increasing paid firefighter staffing. Voters rejected a similar sales tax proposal in August.
If approved, the sales tax proposal would require the fire district to return half of its sales tax revenue to voters in the form of a property tax reduction the following year. District officials estimate the sales tax would generate $800,000 in a 12-month period, meaning a $400,000 reduction in district-wide property taxes the following year.
For individual homeowners, the tax reduction would be about $28 on a $100,000 home.
On the other hand, local residents would be paying a little more in sales taxes whenever they go to the store. So how does the extra sales tax balance against the property tax reduction? To pay an extra $28 to the half-cent tax, you would have to spend $5,600 (pre-tax) on groceries or other retail goods.
Below are the voting precincts and polling places in Warren County:
