ST. LOUIS — Tuesday is Election Day. In both Missouri and Illinois, polling places opened at 6 a.m.
Some of the closest races to watch are in St. Louis, where the board of aldermen is being cut in half.
Also, in November, Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 3, which legalized the use and the recreational sale of marijuana to those 21 and older. The amendment also placed a 6% state sales tax on purchases and authorized local governments to add a 3% sales tax.
St. Louis County officials estimate Prop M would bring in about $3.5 million in revenue annually. Voters in other counties in the St. Louis area are being asked to consider a tax on recreational marijuana sales, as well. In St. Charles County it is called Proposition 3 and in the City of St. Louis it is just called “Proposition.”
“Well, I'm voting for the tax on recreational marijuana, and I would hope that other people would do that too. It will go to county services that we need to provide. Most of our general revenue funds go to public safety," St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said.
Candidates canvassed the City of St. Louis in a last-minute push to get out the vote. Some wards were total blowouts in the March primary.
The new 9th Ward featured the closest race, where Alderwoman Tina Pihl survived by just eight votes and advanced to take on newcomer Michael Browning. At the Board of Elections office, after lackluster turnout in the March primary, election officials are urging voters not to take those initial results for granted.
In the new 14th Ward, incumbent Rasheen Aldridge, who is also a Missouri State Representative, is being challenged by Ebony Washington. Resident Devante Saunders said when he told the Washington campaign he was voting for Aldridge, someone sent him homophobic text messages.
“I don't feel like that's right in any way just because of your sex preference. That shouldn't deter you from voting for somebody," Saunders said.
Washington said Aldridge is desperate. Aldridge said there's only one campaign with motive.
5 On Your Side asked Washington what happened.
“I have no clue," she responded. “I think it's another one of his tricks just to try to make me look bad."
“As long as I've been in politics, this is probably the dirtiest I've seen," Aldridge said. “It's complete hatred. It's complete bigotry. I know I deal with this on the state level. I didn't know I would deal with this on the local level in a city full of Democrats."
Neither candidate showed up at a forum where they were scheduled to debate at the downtown library Monday night. Aldridge said he didn't trust the moderators to give him a fair shake. Washington said she had a family emergency.