Presidential primary prep: Tuesday's election is ordinary, not super

Dorothy Deason, pictured left, and Margaret Heuring run test ballots through all of Scott County's voting machines Friday morning in preparation for the March 15 presidential primary election. Scott Welton, Staff

SIKESTON -- It may be one of the biggest elections ever in the minds of some voters but for Missouri election officials there is nothing super about Tuesday's presidential primary.

"It's just another election," said Scott County Clerk Rita Milam, chief election officer for the county.

"There's really not anything we do differently," said Clement Cravens, New Madrid county clerk and chief election officer. "The only bad thing is this election being so close to the municipal election causes an overlap."

Junior DeLay, Mississippi County clerk and chief election officer, agreed.

"The general municipal election is two weeks later so we are having to prepare for two elections -- that's the headache," DeLay said. "Right now we have overlapping absentee ballot going on. We have a red stamp to indicate it is a presidential primary ballot so we know to put it in the right box."

"We have stickers that are on the outside of the return envelopes," Cravens said. "The stickers say 'presidential preference absentee ballot" so there is no question which election it is for."

"But as far as the elections themselves, there's nothing special at all. Just a normal federal election," DeLay said, which he added means they will have to have the direct-recording electronic election machines at the precincts. "We are required to use the DRE machines in federal elections for the handicapped," he said.

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