St. Charles County reached a new milestone this election season: 300,000 registered voters.
And because the county’s residents are expected to turn out strong for the upcoming general election, St. Charles County’s top elections official is encouraging people to vote early — either with or without an excuse.
“I think that is a wonderful thing,” said St. Charles County Elections Director Kurt Bahr. “It shows just how engaged St. Charles County residents are to have such a high level of voter registration.”
Bahr told reporters that he expects around 75% of voters will cast a ballot by Election Day. From talking with residents, Bahr said that voters are most interested in the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — as well as the Amendment 3 ballot item that would legalize abortion.
Currently, St. Charles County residents can vote absentee with an excuse at the Election Authority headquarters in St. Peters. When the no-excuse, in-person absentee voting period starts on Oct. 22, St. Charles County residents can also go to Element Church in Wentzville.
“We've seen that the two weeks of no-excuse, in-person absentee voting has definitely had an increase in the number of people coming here each day,” Bahr said.
Because Jackson County residents are either under the Kansas City Election Board or the Jackson County Election Board, Bahr said St. Charles County is now the largest voting jurisdiction in the state behind St. Louis County. Kate Springer of the St. Louis County Board of Elections said her county now has 744,010 registered voters — which is down about 20,000 from 2020.
“St. Charles County has grown and continues to grow to this day,” Bahr said. “But it also shows that, as we continue to grow, that the voters who are 18 and eligible to vote — most of them are registered to vote.”
While Bahr was talking to reporters at the Election Authority headquarters, voters like Lisa Crayon of Weldon Spring were casting their ballots early.
She said the process was easy — and fairly peaceful.
“And it's just not a bunch of people around talking or people trying to sway my vote as I walk in,” Crayon said.
St. Charles resident Mary Beth Smith said she wanted to vote before Election Day to avoid long lines.
“And if there is a long line, and say it's raining on Election Day and people would have to stand outside or it was cold, it might dissuade people,” Smith said. “I encourage everybody to just vote, if it's early or on Election Day. Please just exercise that right.”
