An exceptionally low turnout is expected for the April 6 municipal and school board elections. Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell said she expects only around 10% of registered voters will mark ballots.

The lack of interest is driven by the low number of contested races. Only races for New Franklin and Higbee school boards have more candidates than open seats. Voters in the New Franklin school district will choose between four newcomers: Kirk Wilmsmeyer, Matt McGruder, Lisa Maupin, and Alan Marshall. Incumbents Darren Harris and John Bailey did not seek re-election.

A handful of Howard County voters are eligible to cast ballots for the Higbee school board. Incumbent Rusty Ratliff along with Lyann Ritter, Chad Crawford, and William Smith will vie for two open seats. Incumbent Mindy Huddleston did not seek re-election.

Eric Lembke has registered as a write-in candidate for District 5 board representative to the Consolidated Public Water Supply District No. 1.

Howell stresses that any voters who write in names of candidates must fill in the circle by the blank, and correctly spell the person’s name. Failure to do either will render those votes invalid.

So few chose to run in this election that most races are uncontested, and some have no candidates whatsoever. The Fayette and Harrisburg school boards both opted not to hold elections, as there are the same amount of candidates as there are open seats. 

Incumbents Matt Hudson and John Stroupe are running unopposed for second terms on the Fayette school board. In Harrisburg, Josh Stephenson, the incumbent, and Bethann Rosson are running for two open seats. 

For the City of Fayette, incumbents Stephanie Ford, Kylie Tillman, and Grafton Cook filed for re-election to the Board of Aldermen. Former councilman Jeremy Dawson, who was forced to resign when he moved outside of the ward he represented, is running unopposed for the seat of Northwest Alderman. That ward’s current alderman, Pat Roll, will not seek re-election.

Fayette City Marshall, David Ford, is unopposed in his bid for formal election to the post. Commonly known as the Chief of Police, Ford was appointed at the start of the year after former chief Jeff Oswald was elected Howard County Sheriff. 

The cities of New Franklin, Armstrong, and Glasgow will each have vacancies on their respective city councils, since no candidates have filed. Council seats for Ward 2 in New Franklin, the East Ward in Armstrong, and the South Ward in Glasgow will remain empty unless candidates are correctly written in. Races for all other council positions, as well as for Mayor of Glasgow are uncontested.

Not one of New Franklin’s three city council incumbents are seeking re-election. David Breshears, John James, and Walter Banks declined to file. In Glasgow, only one incumbent, Susan Freese in the North Ward, filed for another term.

The Armstrong and Glasgow Special Road Districts will ask voters to approve the continuance of taxes of 35 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Six polling places in Howard County will open on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. They are located at the Howard County Courthouse, Grace Fellowship Church, Bible Baptist Church, Boonesboro Church, Knights of Columbus Hall in Glasgow, and Armstrong City Hall. A sample ballot and list of polling places appear on Page 5 of this newspaper.

Early voting is currently underway in the Clerk’s office at the courthouse. Those who were registered to vote prior to the March 10, 2021, deadline are eligible to cast ballots. The office is open for voting from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. It will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 3.