KBIA

Absentee Ballots High for Military Personnel COLUMBIA, MO (KBIA) -
570. That's the number of Boone County residents living overseas who've requested absentee ballots.In Cole County that number is almost 400.

A big portion of these requests are military personnel and their spouses. Cole County Clerk Marvin Register says there are many options for them to return their absentee ballots.

They can email back their ballot seminar; they can fax it back to us. It just depends on what their status is and them getting it back to us on the timely basis.

History shows that vote-by-mail and absentee ballots have higher turnout rates than conventional polling locations. In 1998 Oregon began conducting all its elections through the mail. Most of Washington State has followed their lead.
Register says that although Missouri has no plans to change the voting process, he supports the idea of no-excuse absentee voting.This initiative would give all voters six-weeks to cast their ballot before Election Day. Currently, only citizens with special exemptions such as illness or military service can file for an absentee ballot.
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