Curbside voting on Election Day for Cole County residents with COVID-19 or quarantined

Mike and Keyna Reed fill out their voting ballots while sitting in their vehicle Saturday as part of the curbside absentee voting that took place along High Street in front of the Cole County Courthouse.
Mike and Keyna Reed fill out their voting ballots while sitting in their vehicle Saturday as part of the curbside absentee voting that took place along High Street in front of the Cole County Courthouse.

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The Cole County Clerk's Office will again offer curbside voting on Election Day for people diagnosed with COVID-19 or quarantined.

Just under 300 registered Cole County voters took advantage of the curbside voting late last week, according to the clerk's office.

The curbside voting will again take place in front of the clerk's office at 311 E. High St., from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday. All voters must bring ID and wear a mask.

"We had 131 voters show up on Friday and 168 on Saturday," said Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer. "We've got to do something to help these folks out."

Volunteers representing the local Democrat and Republican parties will wear masks and gloves when giving the ballots to voters, Korsmeyer said. They will then stand 6 feet away and, when the voters are finished, they will take the ballots back to the clerk's office.

Initially state health officials had said those diagnosed with COVID-19 shouldn't leave their homes to vote, Korsmeyer said. However, other county clerks decided to allow voters diagnosed with COVID-19 to vote curbside, so he decided to do the same thing.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Korsmeyer said, the number of people casting absentee ballots in the clerk's office has been "tremendous." By Monday afternoon, 6,012 people had cast a ballot at the Cole County Clerk's Office; combined with absentee ballots returned through the mail, the total is 9,260 absentee ballots cast, Korsmeyer said.

Those with questions about voting can call the Cole County Clerk's Office at 573-634-9101.