Absentee voting sets new record in Butler County

With less than two weeks to go before the November general election, Butler County already has exceeded its record for absentee ballots, set in 2004.

“We’ve had 1,702 apply for absentee ballots. Out of that, 518 have been in person,” County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall said Thursday. “That includes every absentee, whether it’s been mailed or in person.”

The previous record year, when President George W. Bush visited Poplar Bluff in 2004, saw 1,700 total absentee ballots as of election day, Deffendall said.

“We are already at our record with 10 days to go. This will be more than Butler County has ever had,” Deffendall said.

The number of mail-in ballots returned, Deffendall said, has not yet been determined because staff still are processing them.

“We’ve got several mail-ins back, but I can’t give an exact number. They are coming in pretty good. I’m happy with the way they’re coming in,” Deffendall said.

With an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the law changed this year, Deffendall said, to allow those aged 65 and older with underlying medical conditions to vote absentee.

Those older voters, Deffendall said, have been the largest portion of absentee votes recorded to this point.

“We have seen a lot that took advantage of the excuse of being over 65 with medical conditions,” Deffendall said.

In addition, she said, “We’ve even had a lot of them come into the office to vote instead of having to go to a precinct and stand in a line.”

To assist voters, the County Clerk’s office, Deffendall said, is open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for in-person voting.

In addition, the office will be open from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday, Oct. 31, and from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.

Mail-in voting also is new this year, and anyone can ask for a mail-in ballot for any reason.

The deadline to have a mail-in ballot sent to voters, Deffendall said, was Wednesday.

Mail-in ballots must be received at the County Clerk’s office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is the same time the polls close, Deffendall said.

The County Clerk’s office, Deffendall said, is prepared for any mail-in ballots.

“What happens on election day is we call the post office several times,” Deffendall said. “After our mail runs here, we’ll call them mid-day, and if there’s any ballots that have come in, we’ll go get them.

“They will tell us then the time their last truck of the evening comes in. We will wait until they unload that truck and call to see if there are any ballots.”

Butler County’s votes, Deffendall said, cannot be certified until noon on the Friday following the election. That is because there is one exception to the deadline for absentee ballots.

“We do accept absentees from any military that might be out, and they have until noon on Friday to get us their ballot,” Deffendall said.