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St. Charles County early voting will continue despite lawsuit over poll watchers, election director says

A lawsuit filed against the county's elections director claimed he wasn't allowing poll watchers and challengers to observe early voting.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Charles County elections director on Wednesday said that people will still be allowed to vote early after a lawsuit raised questions over the presence of poll challengers and watchers.

Earlier Wednesday, Travis Heins, the district 7 committeeman for the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee, filed the suit against elections director Kurt Bahr, claiming he wasn't allowed to be a challenger or watcher during early voting at Element Church, a polling place in Wentzville.

In Missouri, challengers observe the voting process and have the right to question peoples' eligibility to vote, while watchers ensure the accuracy of ballot counting. Other states have varying rules on their exact responsibilities.

Heins said he was denied by Bahr, who told him watchers are only for "counting" of ballots, which doesn't happen until election night.

Heins said that Bahr stated during an interview on radio show "Mike Ferguson in the Morning" that ballot counting was already underway.

"When you vote early, your ballot when it goes into that tabulator, it's being counted," Bahr said during the broadcast.

Bahr said the words counting and tabulation are often used interchangeably.

"The ballot counters at a polling location do record or count a voter's ballot. The actual tabulation of an election happens election night at the Election Authority office. That is when the totals are counted for the entire election.

"For simplicity, when speaking to a large group, it is convenient to just use the word counting for both steps," Bahr said.

Bahr said he had no issue with Heinz being present at the St. Charles County Election Authority on Nov. 5.

Judge Matthew Thornhill issued a temporary injunction in response to the lawsuit. A hearing on the order was scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m.

Based on the advice of the county's legal counsel, Bahr said the doors will be open at both early voting locations: the church and the Election Authority in St. Peters.

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