BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Absentee balloting is underway for the Nov. 7 Special Election in Stoddard County, with voters to elect a state representative for District 151. Also on the ballot is a request to levy a use tax in Stoddard County. The special election will be the first election in the county under the new Photo Identification (ID) Law in Missouri.
Three candidates are vying to fill the vacant state House of Representatives seat left by Tila Hubrecht who resigned earlier this year. Herman Morse of Dexter is the Republican candidate for the position, and Curtis Clark of Puxico is the Democratic candidate. Rick Vandeven of Chaffee is running as a Libertarian candidate.
The Republican 151st Legislative District Committee met Aug. 21, 2017, and chose Morse as the Republican candidate for state representative. Four residents expressed their desire to fill the District 151 position, but Morse was selected. Morse has been a member of the Dexter School Board for five terms and is an Air Force veteran. His background is in education, having served as a teacher, counselor, assistant principal and principal. Morse said for 20 years he managed the school credit union. He is also pastor of the Church of Christ in Essex.
The 151st Democrat Legislative District Committee met Aug. 10, 2017, and selected Clark as the Democrat candidate for the District 151 position. Clark is a retired supervisor for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). He was with MoDOT for 28 years. He is a graduate of Puxico High School and the Police Academy at Southeast Missouri State University. He served two years on the Duck Creek Township Board.
The Libertarian Party Committee also met to select a candidate, and chose Vandeven. He has been employed in the paper industry for the past 14 years and is a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church. He was elected to the Missouri State Libertarian Party Executive Committee.
The Stoddard County Commission voted to place a county use tax on the ballot. The county has a one-cent sales tax in place to fund county government. There are no property taxes levied by the county.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in March 2012 that a sales tax could not be levied on vehicles and other motor vehicles purchased out of state. The state moved to continue collection of that tax revenue until 2016, but required each local entity to put the use tax on the ballot and have it approved by taxpayers. Gov. Jay Nixon signed an extension of the tax until 2018, but again required local voter approval. If it fails to pass, then no county tax would be collected on purchases of out-of-state vehicles, boats and equipment in 2019.
The use tax would also apply to internet purchases from out-of-state vendors. The tax proposition does specify who would be required to pay the use tax. "A use tax shall not be required to be filed by persons whose purchases from out-of-state vendors do not in total exceed two thousand dollars in any calendar year."
County voters rejected a county use tax in April 2013 by a 1,238 to 1,491 vote.
County Clerk Joe Watson said there has been only one absentee vote in the election since absentee voting opened on Sept. 26.
Poll workers in Stoddard County attended training sessions on Oct. 18-19 to learn more about the new voter ID law. The training took place in the Commission Room and was sponsored by the county clerk's office.
The new voter ID law was approved by voters in the November, 2016, General Election.
There are three ways a voter can cast a ballot at the polls under the new law:
1) Provide a Missouri issued driver's license or state issued non-driver's license, a U.S. Passport or a military ID;
2) Provide a secondary form of identification, such as paycheck or bank statement, and sign a statement confirming voter identity; or
3) Cast a provisional ballot which will be counted only if the voter returns to the polling place with proper identification by the time the poll closes, or if the signature on file with the county clerk's office matches the voter registration card.
If a voter does not have a photo ID, then they must present an approved alternate ID. These include a Missouri Voter Identification Card, an identification issued by the U.S. government, a state college/university ID, current utility bill, current bank statement, current government check, current paycheck or current government document. They must also sign a sworn affidavit that they are the person listed in the precinct register and their address is correct on the register.
The new law would establish a provisional ballot for voters failing to meet the first two options. The state already provides provisional ballots for voters who have moved from one precinct to another without changing their voter registration.