Marion County Clerk Steve Fox is joining other clerks around the state in recommending that you put your mail-in ballot in the mail no later than today to assure that it is postmarked by primary election day next Tuesday and can be counted. You no longer have until election day to mail back the ballots because the post office has changed when mail is postmarked. It doesn’t happen now until it goes through the St. Louis Regional Post Office, which could be several days later.
There are other opportunities to vote as well if you can’t do it on election day. The clerk’s office is open for grace and early voting eight to four the rest of this week and Monday of next week. The office will also be open from eight to noon this Saturday for early voting. You can also vote early at the Centralia Township Office at 148 South Poplar in Centralia from nine to three on Wednesday.
If you want to vote on election day and are not properly registered, you need to go to the county clerk’s office or Centralia Township Office to cast your vote from six am to seven pm. Your registration will be fixed at the same time you vote. Everyone else will vote from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Tuesday at the same locations as the last election.
Fox says currently 400 of the 1,000 mail-in ballots sent have been returned. So far, just over 500 have voted early.
