JOPLIN, Mo. —
Two more Jasper County polling places that were blown away in the May 22, 2011, tornado will reopen for voters on Nov. 6.
The two polling places returning to the fold are St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 2423 W. 26th St., and the Joplin Housing Authority, 1834 W. 24th St.
The Jasper County clerk’s office had to make a raft of changes after the tornado — even holding one Joplin election at Northpark Mall — because so many buildings that had served as polling places were destroyed or damaged in the storm.
“I think these changes will take us back to pre-tornado; it’s a relief,” Bonnie Earl, Jasper County clerk, said Friday.
The storm also played havoc with voter rolls because many voters had to relocate. New voter identification cards were mailed out in July, but about 10,000 were returned to the clerk’s office because the addresses on them were no longer valid. Election officials said many of the cards that were returned had been sent to residents in Joplin and Duquesne who moved but had not notified election officials of address changes.
Earl said she thinks workers in her offices have handled at least 10,000 address changes since early September. The clerk’s office sends new voter cards to those who have changed their addresses and to voters whose polling places have changed, such as the two in Joplin. Voters in the Joplin 15 and Central City precincts will return to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, and voters in the Joplin 13 Precinct will vote at the Joplin Housing Authority.
Another weather-related change will move voters in the Monitor Precinct back to their regular voting place — Brooklyn Heights town hall, 529 County Road 180. The town hall had no air conditioning, so voting in the August primary election was held at Pleasant Valley Elementary School.
Earl said she hopes voters will take some time leading up to the election to study choices on the ballot, including the four state questions for Missouri residents.
“There are going to be long lines at the polls on Election Day,” she said. “If people wait until they get to the polls and try to read the questions and decide how to vote, it’s going to slow things down even more.”
Questions on the ballot deal with the selection of Missouri Supreme Court and appeals court judges, control of the St. Louis city police force, a proposed tobacco tax increase to generate funds for health and education, and a measure that would prohibit the state from establishing state-based health insurance exchanges unless they were authorized by a vote of the people.
“I hope people will go to the secretary of state’s website,” Earl said. “They can read the full text of the issue or the fair ballot version that’s a lot shorter and simpler.”
Sample ballots
Jasper County Clerk Bonnie Earl said copies of sample ballots are available at the elections offices on the main floor of the Carthage courthouse and on the second floor of the Jasper County Courts Building at Sixth Street and Pearl Avenue in Joplin.
Local News
Sites used as Jasper County voting places back in service after tornado
- Local News
-
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
The designer of the Restore Joplin T-shirts who helped raise nearly a quarter-million dollars for Joplin in the wake of the 2011 tornado has put together a similar design to raise money for residents of Moore, Okla.
-
Carl Junction officials weigh cost of proposed skate park
The public facilities and planning committee of Carl Junction met Tuesday to discuss plans for a proposed skate park near the site of the old public works barn on Water Street. The committee reviewed a design from American Ramp Co. of Joplin to get what committee chairman Tim Smith said was a “rough idea of layout and cost” for the project.
-
Mike Pound: Bernie’s in Avilla a classic tavern
I have a fondness for taverns. When I think of a tavern, I think of a small place with a simple bar, a pool table or two, a jukebox and a kitchen.
-
Jasper County approves renovation, building plans
Work is expected to start within two weeks on a project to renovate a county owned building near the courthouse for the Jasper County sheriff’s office.
-
Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
-
Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
Hired hand won’t face death penalty in Vernon County murder case
The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against Jeremy L. Maples in the murder of Belinda J. Beisly, but prosecutors have yet to take the option off the table for the victim’s husband, Bob T. Beisly II.
-
Families in Moore, Joplin linked by disasters
Zach Woodcock knew the storms were going to be bad on May 22, 2011, so turning on the Weather Channel was a natural. What he saw filled him with fear. The Moore resident’s family lived in Joplin, Mo.
-
Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
-
SMB sets up fund for Moore, Okla., storm victims
Southwest Missouri Bank has set up an account so area residents can donate to storm victims in Moore, Okla., which was hit by an EF-5 tornado on May 20.
- More Local News Headlines
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
