Missouri voters cast first ballots in primary election

Missouri voters will see a very candidate-heavy ballot for today's primary election.

There is only one issue on the ballot for Greene County and that's for residents of Ash Grove. Everything else that voters will be deciding on is candidates.

Missouri has four established parties, so you'll be voting for candidates in the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Constitution parties.

Some of the biggest races on the ballot include governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general.

This is a primary election, so voter turnout will not be as big as the county clerk's office expects for November. As of last week, Greene County had about 180,000 registered voters.

"We anticipate turnout will be probably in the 22% range," said Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller. "Absentee votes have not been necessarily high, so we think we'll kind of be in... and that's a normal range to be at for a primary election for August."

There are some changes at the polls this year, including new voter check-in equipment. Election judges will be using iPads that scan your voter ID card or driver's license before you're able to fill out your ballot.

The tablets replaced old equipment that was about six years old and had reached the end of its shelf life. Previously, polling locations used a mix of laptops and tablets, but now everything is done by iPad.

County officials and election judges have been training for weeks on how to use the new technology to make sure that everything goes smoothly today.

The new equipment not only reduces paperwork, but will hopefully get voters in and out efficiently.

"It's touch screen so they just have to enter in the first three initials of the last and first name, and literally, it normally pulls up their name, just right in their precincts," Schoeller said. "So it's very user-friendly for the election workers, the judges, that are working that day."

If you're registered to vote in your county, you should have already received your voter ID card. If you lost it or never got one, you can find your polling location on your county clerk's website.

At least in Greene County, there have been some changes in polling locations, so be sure to check where your designated polling place is before heading out to vote.

To see sample ballots for your county, click on the "Decision 2016" on the homepage of KY3.com

Polls close at 7 p.m.