V is for Vote! (Missouri residents, please vote NO on Amendment 2 this Tuesday!)
Saturday, August 4th, 2012
Fellow Missourians! The state primaries are coming up this Tuesday, August 7th. If you’re not already registered to vote, it’s obviously too late for this round – but if you can, please register to vote in the general elections on November 6th. The last day to register is October 10, 2012, according to the MO Secretary of State’s 2012 election calendar. You can find registration instructions here.
In this, the latter half of 2012, you’d think that sample ballots would be readily available and easy to find on the SOS’s website as well. Along with election dates, registration documents, and the like, there should be a link to each district’s ballots right there on the main page, making it easy peasy for voters to research their choices beforehand. Or, hell, know what their choices even are.
Or not. At least not here in the “Show Me” state. Upon visiting the “Elections” section of SOS’s website, voters can find all sorts of info under the “for voters” menu – voter ID info, absentee voting requirements, how to check your voter registration, even language for past and present initiative petitions and ballot questions. But no sample ballots.
Under the FAQ, there is an entry regarding sample ballots: “Where can I see a sample ballot?”
The answer:
You may be able to view your sample ballot at our Voter Information Lookup.
Sample ballots can also be viewed at the polling place or at the office of your local election authority. Sample ballots are also required to be printed twice prior to each election in newspapers of general circulation. Some election jurisdictions may also mail sample ballots to all registered voters in that jurisdiction.
I dutifully checked my registration as directed, and…nothing. Nada. No link or further instructions or even so much as a note that a sample ballot for my district is not available through the Vote Missouri website – but hey, here’s where you can find it.
It took me a half hour of digging before I was finally able to find a sample ballot for my district – and even then, it wasn’t published on a government website, but in the archives of our local, rinky-dink county newspaper. Had The Clinton County Leader not archived old issues online, I would have been forced to trek on over to the county courthouse to pick up a paper ballot. Which isn’t really a big deal, since it’s just down the street, and I have a car to drive there – and failing that, a healthy, able body to get me there. But not everyone does. Some potential voters may be confined to their homes, either temporarily or long-term, while others may be lacking in transportation. Still others may have internet access, minus the knowledge to research and locate a ballot on a third-party website. Or operate Adobe Reader.
My point is, there’s no good reason why sample ballots for every district shouldn’t be available in multiple places – in the newspaper, in government buildings, via sail mail for those who request it, and yes, in one central place online, preferably listed alongside other election materials. The internet: it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s effective. It’s also 2012. Get with the program, Robin Carnahan.
Anyway, here’s the sample ballot for Clinton County, Missouri (click through to embiggen), followed by a plain-text version. In years past I’ve published my picks as well, but seeing as I still haven’t made up my mind (so many candidates, so little information!) I did things a little differently this time around.

Fellow Missourians! The state primaries are coming up this Tuesday, August 7th. If you’re not already registered to vote, it’s obviously too late for this round – but if you can, please register to vote in the general elections on November 6th. The last day to register is October 10, 2012, according to the MO Secretary of State’s 2012 election calendar. You can find registration instructions here.
In this, the latter half of 2012, you’d think that sample ballots would be readily available and easy to find on the SOS’s website as well. Along with election dates, registration documents, and the like, there should be a link to each district’s ballots right there on the main page, making it easy peasy for voters to research their choices beforehand. Or, hell, know what their choices even are.
Or not. At least not here in the “Show Me” state. Upon visiting the “Elections” section of SOS’s website, voters can find all sorts of info under the “for voters” menu – voter ID info, absentee voting requirements, how to check your voter registration, even language for past and present initiative petitions and ballot questions. But no sample ballots.
Under the FAQ, there is an entry regarding sample ballots: “Where can I see a sample ballot?”
The answer:
You may be able to view your sample ballot at our Voter Information Lookup.
Sample ballots can also be viewed at the polling place or at the office of your local election authority. Sample ballots are also required to be printed twice prior to each election in newspapers of general circulation. Some election jurisdictions may also mail sample ballots to all registered voters in that jurisdiction.
I dutifully checked my registration as directed, and…nothing. Nada. No link or further instructions or even so much as a note that a sample ballot for my district is not available through the Vote Missouri website – but hey, here’s where you can find it.
It took me a half hour of digging before I was finally able to find a sample ballot for my district – and even then, it wasn’t published on a government website, but in the archives of our local, rinky-dink county newspaper. Had The Clinton County Leader not archived old issues online, I would have been forced to trek on over to the county courthouse to pick up a paper ballot. Which isn’t really a big deal, since it’s just down the street, and I have a car to drive there – and failing that, a healthy, able body to get me there. But not everyone does. Some potential voters may be confined to their homes, either temporarily or long-term, while others may be lacking in transportation. Still others may have internet access, minus the knowledge to research and locate a ballot on a third-party website. Or operate Adobe Reader.
My point is, there’s no good reason why sample ballots for every district shouldn’t be available in multiple places – in the newspaper, in government buildings, via sail mail for those who request it, and yes, in one central place online, preferably listed alongside other election materials. The internet: it’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s effective. It’s also 2012. Get with the program, Robin Carnahan.
Anyway, here’s the sample ballot for Clinton County, Missouri (click through to embiggen), followed by a plain-text version. In years past I’ve published my picks as well, but seeing as I still haven’t made up my mind (so many candidates, so little information!) I did things a little differently this time around.
