Tuesday is election day in mid-Missouri; Columbia’s vacant second ward council seat to be filled

By Brian Hauswirth
columbia city hall

Boone County’s clerk is forecasting an eight to nine percent voter turnout for Tuesday’s election.

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Polls across Missouri opened this morning at 6 and will remain open until 7 pm. Boone County clerk Brianna Lennon tells 939 the Eagle that more than 1,800 registered voters have already cast ballots in-person.

Voters in Columbia’s second ward are filling a council seat that’s been vacant since mid-May, when then-Councilwoman Lisa Meyer resigned for health reasons. Businessman Ken Rice is running against activist Vera Elwood, and both candidates have raised thousands of dollars. Columbia’s second ward includes the Vanderveen, Parkade, Belwood and Park DeVille neighborhoods along with some retirement homes.

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Then-State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) presides over the Missouri House in Jefferson City on March 27, 2024 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Voters in Columbia/Boone County are casting ballots today on Proposition 1, which involves exempting senior citizens from increases in property taxes. Former State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) is urging voters to vote yes, saying this is a full freeze to include bond levies.

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The Harrisburg school district mascot in Boone County (photo courtesy of district’s Facebook page)

And voters in the growing Harrisburg R-VIII school district are casting ballots on a 50-cent increase to the operating tax levy. Harrisburg superintendent Steve Combs says this would be an approximately seven percent increase on your property tax bill. Superintendent Combs says the increase will enable the Harrisburg district to continue to provide resources to the students there, the leaders of tomorrow.