Primary election day in the Show-Me state is just days away. On Tuesday, Aug. 4, Missourians will cast their ballots and weigh in on several state-wide issues and candidates running for elected office.
In Missouri, the primary election trims down the candidates to determine who appears as each party's nominee in the general election in November.
Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller told the News-Leader he expects a roughly 30% voter turnout this election overall. As of Thursday, July 30, he said already more than 4,000 had cast an absentee ballot.
Here's what to know before heading to the polls in Greene and Christian counties.
Get ready to head to the polls
On Election Day, polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. If you are in line at 7 p.m. when the polls close, you are still
allowed to vote if you stay in line.
Absentee voting is underway with voters able to cast a no-excuse absentee ballot through Monday, Aug. 3. Absentee voting will be offered at the Greene County Elections Center, 1126 N. Boonville Ave., from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and at The Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell Ave., from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Both locations will also be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, for in-person absentee voting.
In order to cast a ballot, remember to bring an appropriate ID.
How do I find my polling place?
The Greene County Clerk's Office website offers a searchable map of polling locations. Voters also can check their registration and find their polling place on the Secretary of State's website.
Two polling places in Greene County have changed for the Aug. 4 election. These are temporary changes due to the scope of the election. Those in precinct 7-BC who previously voted at the Library Station will now vote at Williams Elementary School at 2205 W. Kearney St. Those in precinct 16-C who previously voted at Bissett Elementary will cast their ballots at York Elementary School at 2100 W. Nichols St.
Do I need to be registered with a party to pull that ballot?
No, voters can choose which party's primary ballot they would like to pull at the polls or pull a nonpartisan issue-only ballot that does not include any office races. Schoeller noted that this election has seen a large increase during absentee voting in nonpartisan ballots being cast compared to past August elections.
He shared that this year, roughly 7.7% of ballots cast during absentee voting as of July 30 were nonpartisan issue-only ballots. However, this August election has multiple ballot issues, including some high-profile ones such as Amendment 4 and 5, compared to August elections in 2020 and in 2018 when only one issue appeared on the ballot — Medicaid expansion and the right to work law, respectively.
Sample ballots can be found on the respective county clerks' websites.
Who's running for federal, state office?
U.S. House 7th District: Rep. Eric Burlison is running for his third term but it is not without competition. He will be challenged by two Republican candidates, John Casey and Grayson Hunt, on the Aug. 4 ballot. Burlison assumed office in the U.S. House in 2023 but previously served both in the Missouri House and Senate. During his time in Washington D.C., he has aimed to change work requirements for those receiving food stamps, tackled issues property owners run into with the Army Corps of Engineers and promoted more investigation of UFOs.
Casey is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran seeking to challenge the status quo. According to his campaign website, he wants to eliminate property taxes, deport all undocumented immigrants, end foreign aid and pass a moratorium on artificial intelligence job replacement as more permanent regulations are established.
Hunt, an insurance producer and cybersecurity student at Missouri State University, is among the youngest candidates for Congress having turned 25 last year. His focus is on affordability through reduced federal spending and expanded workforce development, securing the borders while supporting a legal immigration system focused on skilled workers and students, and improving rural broadband, among other priorities.
The candidate that wins the Aug. 4 primary race will run against Democrat Missi Hesketh and Libertarian Kevin Craig, both of whom have run for the seat before, in November.
State Auditor: Incumbent Scott Fitzpatrick (R) is being challenged by Gerald (Jerry) Wistrand Jr. (R) on the Republican ballot. Quentin Wilson (D) and Gregory Upchurch (D) will face off in the Democratic primary. Dustin Coffell (L) will run against the candidates chosen from each party in the November election.
Legislative district maps can be found on the Secretary of State website to see which district you reside in and which races will appear on your ballot. The following candidates are running for state Senate seats:
District 20: Longtime Republican state politician Sen. Curtis Trent will be challenged in the primary by elder law attorney Lori Rook. Rook ran for Missouri Treasurer in 2024. Trent was first elected to the state Senate in 2022 after serving six years in the Missouri House.
Rook has described herself as the "actual conservative" candidate with a focus on improving transparency, reducing taxes responsibly and defending pro-life issues. Trent, who is in the running for Senate majority floor leader in the next session if re-elected, is focused on reducing taxes and reforming the education system. The two largely differ on their stances on Amendment 5, which would repeal the state income tax, with Trent in support and Rook opposing the plan proposed.
Whoever garners more voter support in the Republican primary will run against Sean Falconer, the only Democrat running for the state Senate seat, in November.
District 30: Melanie Stinnett (R), Betsy Fogle (D) and Cecil Ince (L)
The following candidates are running for state representative seats in contested primary races.
District 138: State Rep. Burt Whaley is running for his second term and will be challenged by Tom Franiak on the Republican ballot in the primary. Whaley is a U.S. Army veteran and led a career in education, including working as a principal and serving on the school board. His priorities include securing legislation for the sanctity of life, supporting parents' choice in their children's education and promoting agricultural and local business success.
Franiak, the owner of Midwest Cabinets & Design, is leaning on his experiences as an entrepreneur and advocate for conservative principles in his run to challenge Whaley. His focus is on protecting parental rights in education, making healthcare more affordable, and advocating for energy competition to drive utility costs down.
In November, whoever garners more voter support will face Democrat Chris Daughtery in the general election.
District 139: State Rep. Bob Titus will be challenged in the August Republican primary by Sandy Karnes. Titus was first elected to represent western Christian County in the House in 2022. His priorities include expanding school choice, standing up to big tech censorship and advancing strong pro-life policies.
Karnes, a local real estate agent, has been an involved member of local Republican committees and co-founded the Missouri Republican Education Forum, a group that seeks to promote education, community engagement and dialogue. Her platform includes limiting government involvement in small businesses, supporting enhanced training for nursing home staff and expanded services for aging in place, and advocating for farmers and agri-ready communities.
District 140: State Rep. Jamie Gragg will face off against former Springfield City Councilwoman Angela Romine in the primary. Gragg has already served two terms in the state House, during which he has championed a fatherhood bill that would help fund positions at community organizations to support dads wanting to foster better relationships with their children.
Romine, a massage therapist and small business owner, briefly served on Springfield council before entering the race for Sen. Lincoln Hough's seat in 2022. After moving to Christian County last year, she is challenging Gragg after hearing dissatisfaction from voters, with a focus on education reform and preservation of Second Amendment rights.
Whoever wins out the Republican primary will run against Julia Curran, the only candidate who filed to run as a Democrat for the seat, in November.
The following state representative seats have only one candidate per party running in the primary. The opposing party candidates will face off at the November general election.
- District 130: Bishop Davidson (R) and Leslie Jones (D)
- District 131: Bill Owen (R) and Ashley Cossins (D)
- District 132: Russ Gosselin (R) and Jeremy Dean (D)
- District 133: Jerry Angelo (R) and Katelyn Zach (D)
- District 134: Alex Riley (R) and K. Grant (D)
- District 135: Michael Hasty (R) and John Michael (Johnny) Chiles (D)
- District 136: Jacey Buckles (R) and Stephanie Hein (D)
- District 137: Darin Chappell (R) and Bryce Lockwood (D)
Local races see one contested seat
While several Greene County offices are up for election, only one race is contested in the August primary between two Republican candidates — the Greene County Circuit Clerk.
Incumbent Bryan Feemster, who has served one term in the office, is running for re-election and is challenged by Shannon Peirce. Since being elected four years ago, Feemster has faced several changes within the courts system from mass expungement of marijuana charges to an increasing case load without a proportional increase in staff.
Peirce joined the race after concerns were raised by local attorneys regarding management of family court filings and processing. Prior to entering the race, he worked at The Kitchen, Inc. as the director of Compliance & Programs, though previously has worked in the Greene County Sheriff's Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol. Peirce's focus, if elected, would be on improving efficiency and knowing all parts of the job himself in order to be able to help out.
With only Republican candidates filing in the race for Circuit Clerk, who serves in the role the next four years will be determined on Aug. 4.
Other Greene County offices for county clerk, collector of revenue, presiding commission, prosecuting attorney and recorder of deeds are unopposed with current office holders running for re-election. For the County Auditor seat, incumbent Cindy Stein will be challenged by Democrat Angela Crawford in the November election.
In Christian County, long-time presiding commissioner Lynn Morris is exiting and in the race to succeed him Jered Taylor and Terry Bible will face off on the Republic ballot.
Bible is a retired Missouri State Trooper who is running on a platform of increased government transparency, improvement of public services and infrastructure, and support of county employees through better incentives and benefits. He has stated he is running for the seat to be a public servant, not a politician.
Taylor comes with experience serving at the state level, having served eight years in the state House. Currently, he works in Rep. Eric Burlison's Springfield office as a field representative but has previously worked in the private sector as a loss prevention manager. He has also highlighted transparency as a priority and noted that if elected he would work toward more Christian County communities working together to secure more infrastructure investment.
The remainder of county-level races in Christian County up for election are uncontested.
State-wide issues on the Aug. 4 ballot
Amendment 1: The question asks whether the state should renew its 1/10-cent sales and use tax used for soil and water conservation, state parks and historic sites for another 10 years. The tax, which dates back to the 1980s, generates an approximate $140 million annually.
Amendment 2: If approved, this amendment would require the Jackson County Assessor to be an elected office. Currently the office is appointed due to a carveout specifically for Jackson County in the state's constitution that requires all other charter counties to elect their assessor. In November, Jackson County voters decided the office should be elected, according to reporting by KCUR.
Amendment 4: The question will ask whether to change the way initiative petitions to amend the Missouri Constitution are approved by voters. If approved on Aug. 4, the measure would require an initiative petition to be approved by a majority of voters in each congressional district in the state for it to pass. According to the sample ballot, the Department of Corrections estimates an increased annual cost of up to nearly $22,000, while the Office of State Public Defender estimates an unknown fiscal impact.
Amendment 5: This amendment would authorize the phasing out of the state's income tax. It would give the Missouri General Assembly five years to come up with a plan, using either increased sales and use taxes or expansion of those taxes to currently untaxed goods and services, to replace the revenues that the income tax currently provides to the state budget.
Those in support of the amendment claim the elimination of the income tax would make Missouri more competitive and drive economic growth. Critics, on the other hand, believe the amendment is too vague and gives legislators too much leeway to decide what to tax and whether to increase sales taxes. They have argued that retirees and working-class families would shoulder more of the tax burden if sales taxes are increased to offset the drop in state revenue.
Local questions on Aug. 4 ballot
Ash Grove: The city of Ash Grove will ask its voters whether to renew a 1/2-cent sales tax that supports transportation, including construction, repair and maintenance of city streets and infrastructure, for 10 years.
Nixa Fire Protection District: Nixa Fire is asking voters to consider a 1% sales tax to fund operations of the district. If approved, the total property tax levy would be reduced annually by an amount equal to 50% of the prior year's sales tax revenue. This is a new approach, recently authorized by state law, by the fire district after voters rejected an increase to the property tax levy in November.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: See what's on the Aug. 4 ballot in Greene, Christian counties
