By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Voters are casting ballots in Missouri and Illinois, and many peole are finding long lines, including the two main party candidates for U.S. Senate in Missouri.
Democrat Claire McCaskill says she was amazed, and happy, that she had to wait more than a half-hour to vote at her polling place in Kirkwood this morning.
There were 50 people ahead of McCaskill when she arrived just before 7:00, along with her husband, mother and son. She says the bigger the turnout, the better her prospects are to unseat Republican incumbent Senator Jim Talent, adding "this kind of turnout for a nonpresidential race is amazing."
Talent waited nearly an hour to cast his vote at an elementary school in Chesterfield.
Talent said he's been frustrated with having to run against the record of others in his party, as voters have expressed displeasure with President Bush and Republican congressmen. Talent thinks his record - not the records of other Republicans - will matter most today.
VOTER ID
Missourians do not have to show a photo ID to vote today. For the most part, whatever document they took with them to the polling place last time should work this time to verify who you are. That includes utility bills, bank statements, and pay stubs.
Some election officials say they were worried there might be confusion over identification because of all the attention given to a law that was passed this year to require photo ID's to vote in Missouri. But the state Supreme Court threw the law out, making the requirement void.
Lines also might be longer because this is the first time voters in Missouri won't be able to vote straight ticket, which means even if they want to vote for all the Republicans or Democrats on a ballot, they'll have to go through and vote for the nominee in each race instead of just pushing one button or filling in one circle.
VOTING MACHINES
Most voting machines being used today made their debut in August, but tomorrow is their first big test with turnout expected to be higher. Judge Joe Goeke, a St. Louis County elections director, says he's confident the machines will work. But he adds the long ballot might make for long lines, especially if people don't know how the ballot questions are numbered.
"If people know that stem cell is Constitutional Amendment 2 and they can just read Constitutional Amendment 2' and vote how they want to vote for stem cell, they'll vote much quicker and lines will be much shorter than if they take the time to read the 50 words under each proposition," he said. Goeke says some county voters, depending on where they live, will have 36 different races or questions on their ballots. He says people should write down how they want to vote on each race ahead of time so they get through the process faster.