Gasconade County Clerk Lesa Lietzow said some voters in next Tuesday’s General Election may spend up to 10 minutes casting their ballots with the anticipation of record numbers at the polls.

“I told our election judges to expect over 8,000 voters compared to the 3,000 we usually have,” said Lietzow. “Over 84-hundred is possible.”

Lietzow and her staff last week conducted a 4-hour long training seminar for election officials from the county’s 16 precincts. The Oct. 21 session held at the county’s road department included instructions to help make the election go more smoothly for the county’s 10,579 registered voters. Representatives from each of the county’s precinct but one were present  for the seminar. Since last week, however, Lietzow was able to go over the seminar’s material with the absent precinct’s representative. “We had a good turnout,” she said. “It went well.”

To help handle the estimated 80-percent turnout, Lietzow said 10 additional polling booths have been assigned to precincts across the county. Another two have been requested and are expected to be in place for the election.

Statewide, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has estimated voter turnout will reach 76 percent. Those figures are based on estimates from each of Missouri’s 114 county clerks.

Lietzow said three important pieces of information were presented to the election officials and the public should be informed as well.

First, if you are in line at 7 p.m. when the polls are scheduled to close you will be allowed to vote. However, the 7 p.m. time limit is set by a watch carried by one of the officials at each precinct. That watch, official for that precinct, is set off the clock on the voting tabulation machine.

Second, once you have checked in and signed in with the registration clerk at poll, you may take your ballot and vote without waiting for an actual booth to open up. Lietzow said election officials have been instructed to make sure voters casting ballots away from the actual polling booth do so in private and away from other voters or people waiting in line.

Lietzow said they want to avoid having voters marking their ballots in doorways, blocking exits, or disturbing others who are waiting.

“You can go and sit somewhere private,” she said. “You don’t have to wait for a booth if there’s another place to sit…(go) some place in private.”

Third, election workers have been instructed to keep voters  several feet away from the tabulation machine while waiting to slide their ballot into the devise. Lietzow, noting the ballot is a two-side document, stressed that for privacy reasons there will be a marked stop sign as you approach the machine. “The stop sign at the machine is to keep the next person from stepping up to the machine too soon and to avoid looking over the voter’s shoulder.”

Carnahan offered the following suggestions to make your voting experience a positive one:

• Verify registration status. If you are already registered to vote but your address is not current you can update your address — even on election day. Go to the state’s election web site www.GoVoteMissouri.com (click “Voter Information Lookup”).

• Know your polling place. The www.GoVoteMissouri.com web site includes a tool that allows voters to both find the address of their polling place and view it on a map (click on “Voter Information Lookup”).

• Know what ID to bring on election day. Missouri has a common-sense voter identification law that makes it easy for voters to prove who they are on election day and also ensures the voting system is secure. Accepted forms of identification are on the web site and on page 3 (click on “How to Vote”).

• Know what is on the ballot. Newspapers around the state published sample ballots twice before the election, and voters may also view their sample ballot on-line through the “Voter Information Lookup.” See pages 15 (State Side) and 35.

• Do plan time to vote. Lines are generally shorter earlier in the day. If you cannot vote during business hours, please plan enough time to make sure you are in line by 7 p.m. on Nov. 4.  Polls in Missouri are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., and anyone in line by 7 p.m. according to the election officials watch will be allowed to vote.

• Bring your family and friends. Nov. 4 will be an important day for all Americans and what better way to share it than going to vote together. Go as a group to vote and call your elderly family members to make sure they have a chance to vote.

• Remember that Missouri no longer has a straight ticket voting option. You must fill out a choice on each race for it to be counted.

• Call the Election Division hotline at 1-800-NOW-VOTEDO if you encounter any problems at the polls.

• Do not cast a provisional ballot at the incorrect polling place. If a poll worker tells you that you are at the wrong polling place, please take the time to go to the correct location to make sure your voice is heard. Provisional ballots cast at the incorrect polling place will not be counted.

• Do not be discouraged from voting if you are going through the foreclosure process. Whether you are still in your home, staying somewhere else in your county, or have moved across the state, you should still be able to cast a ballot under Missouri law. Contact your local election authority or call 1-800-NOW-VOTE for more information.