ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — It's a historic milestone in St. Charles County. For the first time, the county has registered more than 300,000 people to vote.
Director of Elections Kurt Bahr with the St. Charles County Election Authority points to its ever-growing county with the U.S. Census Bureau estimating about 417,000 total residents. He said there are now more registered voters in the county than the total number of people living there in 2001.
"We're in the top 1% nationally of number of eligible voters registered to vote," Bahr shared.
He thinks it'll be a good turnout.
"For the presidential election, we're expecting to see 75% turnout, so we're expecting to see about 225,000 voters just in St. Charles County casting a ballot," Bahr said.
Bahr expects to see 500-1,000 voters every day leading up to the Nov. 5 election.
"This is the biggest election in my lifetime for sure. The country is divided," St. Charles County resident Kerry Crayon said. "I've voted ever since I was 18 years old. I'm a veteran. We vote."
Crayon cares about his country.
"It's what makes America great, we get to vote our own heart," Crayon said.
He's one of many registered to vote and was at the county's election headquarters in St. Peters Wednesday afternoon to vote.
Bahr explained St. Charles County voters said their top two reasons to vote in this election is the presidential race and Amendment 3, which is the The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative.
Before going to the ballot box, Bahr said to be mindful.
"The ballot is long, and it is complicated. There are multiple ballot measures on the ballot," he said.
The ballot in St. Charles County is 17-inches long, which could cost more time for a voter. That's why the St. Charles County Election Authority is sending sample ballots in the mail for voters to review the measures and it's adding 1,000 extra poll workers, so the lines can move along faster.
It also bought an extra 100 iPads to have an extra one at each check-in to speed up the process.
Bahr also asked people to vote earlier during no-excuse, in-person absentee.
Crayon voted ahead of time, as his eyes focus on the future.
"This is important being a veteran. My dad was a veteran. This is the real deal here. This is how we do it," Crayon said.
If you do vote on Nov. 5, Bahr said to go bright and early or later in the evening. He said lunch time is usually the busiest.
St. Charles County Election Authority shared these dates:
- Oct. 15 – Look for sample ballots in the mail, it will be mailed to every registered voter.
- Oct. 22 – No-excuse, in-person absentee voting starts.
- Oct. 24 – Voting machines accuracy test, where public participation is encouraged.
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