Early voting shows no signs of slowing down the weekend before the election

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) – The goal of rapid early voting in St. Louis County was not achieved for many voters Saturday.

“I didn’t expect a line, even though my husband told me there would be a line,” Valerie Edwards said. “My husband was right.”

Some voters at the Daniel Boone Branch of the St. Louis County Library in Ellisville told First Alert 4 they waited more than two hours to cast their ballots.

This also included efforts to change voters' minds.

At the polling station, First Alert 4 staff saw a person speaking to a group of voters about Amendment 3. The person was near an unused entrance to the building.

A man in line said to this person, “It’s illegal what you’re doing so close to the election.”

First Alert 4 asked Allison Gorga, an election judge in St. Louis County and a professor at Webster University, whether the person's actions would be considered electioneering.

Campaigning is the promotion of political activities within a certain distance from a polling station. This distance is 25 feet in Missouri.

“It’s 25 feet from the entrance to the polling place. So if there are multiple entrances to the polling place, there will be a 25-foot radius around those entrances,” Gorga said. “Now if there is an entrance to the building that is not being used as an entrance to the polling place, that would be exempt from this, so you can stay within the property, 25 feet from the property and still talk to voters or carry your ballot.” T-shirts or have your signs ready.”

First Alert 4 staff also noticed voters being approached while waiting in line at the Buder Library in St. Louis City and asked Gorga if this was allowed.

“If they are within 25 feet of the entrance, they will be allowed to approach voters in line. Now, if a voter says, 'I don't want to talk to you,' the person should respect that,” she said. “If the person approaching the voter makes voters uncomfortable or makes them uncomfortable waiting in line, that could be viewed as voter intimidation.”

To date, 200,274 ballots have been cast in St. Louis County and 49,360 in the city of St. Louis.

Gorga believes this trend could impact the early voting process in future elections.

“People like being able to vote and not quit work if they don’t have to,” she said. “I think it’s a sign that people like this kind of thing, and maybe we should expand on it in the future.”

Below are hotline numbers if you experience voter intimidation. However, a voter should first alert a poll worker:

• The Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Espanol)
• The U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 800-253-3931; TTY line 877-267-8971

Contacts in St. Louis County:

• General Voter Information (Public) 314-615-1800
• Polling Place/Site Access Issues 314-615-1929
• Violation of Voter or Election Judge 314-615-1800

You can also file a formal complaint with the state's Election Integrity Office here: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/elections_integrity

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