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Clerk predicts 60% voter turnout

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 11/2/22

Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell predicts a better than 60% turnout for Tuesday’s midterm election. The heated race for Howard County Prosecuting Attorney and Amendment 3, which would legalize …

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Clerk predicts 60% voter turnout

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Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell predicts a better than 60% turnout for Tuesday’s midterm election. The heated race for Howard County Prosecuting Attorney and Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri, are the principal drivers for the projection. Races for U.S. Senate and U.S. District 4 Representative are also expected to lure voters.

The last midterm election saw similar numbers. In 2018, 60.58% of registered voters cast ballots for an election with races for Circuit 14 Presiding Judge, County Clerk, and Howard County Presiding Commissioner.

Seven polling places throughout the county will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. (A list of polling places appears alongside a sample ballot on Page 5 of this newspaper.)

The race for Howard County Prosecutor has heated up over the last two months. Two-term Republican incumbent Deborah Riekhof faces a challenge by local attorney Frank R. Flaspohler.

Mr. Flaspohler filed as an Independent on August 1. This election will mark the second time he has run for prosecutor against Mrs. Riekhof. 

In 2010, 336 votes, or about 9% of the ballots cast, separated the two, with Mrs. Riekhof finishing ahead with more than 54% of the vote. In that election, Mr. Flaspohler ran as a Democrat.

While other local candidates are running without opposition, elections for U.S. Senate and U.S. Representative could have national implications. Republican Eric Schmitt and Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine are the front runners for the US Senate seat being vacated by two-term Republican Senator Roy Blunt. Libertarian Jonathan Dine and Constitution Party candidate Paul Venable are also on the ballot.

There is a three-way race between Republican Mark Alford, Democrat Jack Truman, and Libertarian Randy Langkraehr for District 4 U.S. Representative, which includes Howard County. The seat was vacated by Republican Vicky Hartzler, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Mrs. Hartzler began her congressional career in 2010 after upsetting Democrat Ike Skelton.

The contested race at the state level is that for Missouri Auditor. Republican Scott Fitzpatrick, Democrat Alan Green, and Libertarian John Hartwig will all appear on the ballot. Fitzpatrick is currently the State Treasurer for Missouri.

Former auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, announced in June she would not seek a second full term. She was appointed by then-Governor Jay Nixon in 2015 and was re-elected in 2018.

The last day to vote absentee in person will be on Monday, November 7, in the Clerk’s office, located inside the Howard County courthouse. Votes will be collected until 5 p.m. The Clerk’s office will also be open from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, November 5, for absentee voters.

Election updates will be “cried” by Mark Belcher from the east side of the courthouse as results are tabulated. The Fayette Advertiser will publish results on its website, www.fayettenewspapers.com, on the night of the election. They will be printed in the November 16 edition of the newspaper.

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