A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit to stop early voting in St. Charles County.
Republican Committeeman Travis Heins filed the suit on Wednesday claiming that Election Director Kurt Bahr denied him access to a polling station to observe early voting.
Judge Dwayne Johnson said Heins had filed the lawsuit improperly. Heins did not say whether he plans to refile before Election Day.
County election officials have said that there have been no issues so far with people casting their ballots legally.
In his lawsuit, Heins claimed that Bahr prevented him from acting as a poll watcher or challenger at an in-person voting location. Bahr said poll watchers are only allowed to observe on Election Day, when ballots are counted.
“We are happy that St. Charles County voters will not have to worry about their ability to vote during the absentee period,” Bahr said in a statement. “Election challengers from both political parties will be present at several polling locations on election day as state law allows. We hope that the legislature can provide clarity on this issue during their next session.”
Heins, a registered poll watcher with the county, said there needs to be more clarity on when poll watchers from either political party can start observing the voting process.
“It’s another level of election security,” Heins said. “We now have 14 days of early voting, and that’s just another check and balance that isn’t in place during our voting process.”
St. Charles County has seen an influx of registered voters this election year. So far, more than 25,000 people have voted since absentee voting began in Missouri almost two weeks ago.
