The Fort Scott Tribune

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With the upcoming election only 27 days away, preparations are being made for one of the biggest elections in many years. Because of the importance of this election, many people have been registering to vote.

"From President down to the local offices, there are a lot of races that people are interested in," Bourbon County Clerk Joanne Long said.

The county is seeing quite an increase in the number of registrations and re-registrations. According to Long, the county sees about a dozen people a day in the office, and 15-20 registrations arrive in the mail. On top of that, they see about a dozen advance applications a day.

"It's just really picking up," said Long.

According to Long, about 20 percent of the registrations received by the county are 18-year-old individuals while the other 80 percent are individuals who moved and are re-registering or simply never registered before.

Kansas law requires that individuals must be registered to vote at least 15 days prior to an election. Registration will close at the end of business on Monday, Oct. 20. Voters can check their status with Voter View at www.myvoteinfo.voteks.org. Unregistered voters may pick up a form at City Hall, the County Clerk's Office or Fort Scott Community College, among other places. Also, a form may be printed off of the Internet. These forms will need to be mailed or faxed to the county with the required signature.

"I encourage everybody to make sure they're registered to vote," said Long.

Voters who are voting for the first time will be required to show identification prior to voting. Acceptable identification include a valid Kansas driver's license or non-driver's ID with the correct address, other government-issued ID with your photo, a school ID with picture, a utility bill for services at your registration address or a band statement at the registration address.

To make voting easier, sample ballots are available at the County Clerk's Office or online at www.bourboncountyks.org. These sample ballots are identical to the actual ballot, except that it bears a watermark signifying that it is a sample. This is the first time that Bourbon County has offered the sample ballot online. The sample ballots may be taken to the polls to reduce time and pressure in the voting booth.

Advance voting is also available. Voters can apply to have a ballot mailed to them or they can vote in-person prior to Election Day. Advance ballots will begin mailing on October 15. In-office voting will begin at 8:30 a.m. October 20 and will end at noon on November 3.

Advance voting has taken place of absentee ballots. The use of advance voting should reduce the lines at the polls on Election Day.

"The more people that vote in advance, the fewer people in line that go to vote on election day," said Long.