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Elected without an election
Holding an election is not cheap. Whether it is for a school board, township, city or village, it costs money to have candidates and/or issues placed on the ballot.
"We take the total cost for an election and divide it by the number of voters each entity has in their area," said Vernon County Clerk Mike Buehler.
Elections clerk, Lindsey Cooksey added, "For the election in April, the Nevada R-5 district will be charged the most, around $7,800, while it looks like Stotesbury will be charged the least, around $10.
For many years, townships have not been required to conduct an election when the number of candidates equaled the number of open positions. More recently, state law was amended to permit the same for entities conducting nonpartisan elections, such as school boards and municipalities with a population of 1,000 or under.
For example, Revised Statutes Missouri Section 115.124.1 specifies a municipality can avoid the cost of holding an election if the number of candidates equals the number of open positions but only if a specific proposition stating this has first been adopted by the voters of that town or village.
Such voter approved propositions sunset after six years, requiring the municipality to seek voter approval if its aldermen or council wishes to continue such a practice.
School boards are required to adopt a model policy.
Even when a school board or municipality does not need to conduct an election, such entities are required to publish, "in a newspaper of general circulation," a notice containing the names of each candidate. Such people will be considered elected as of the date of the regular election and will begin a term of office at the same time as if an election had to be conducted.
While the villages of Bronaugh and Schell City have already obtained the necessary voter approval; the Village of Milo, which has three open seats and only three people who have filed, will have to hold an election since its voters have not adopted the necessary proposition.
While Milo will place such a proposition before its voters in April, Deerfield and Walker, which have three and two open positions respectively and have just enough candidates to fill those slots but have not adopted the necessary resolution and are not set to do this in April.
Here is a list of those entities, positions and candidates, having the number of candidates equal to the number of open positions and who are not holding an election for candidates.
While Badger, Coal, Metz, Moundville and Washington townships will not be holding candidate elections, each will vote on its special road levy.
In Badger township, the four people elected are: clerk, Shelly Baldwin; trustee, Kevin Baldwin; and board members Frank Radspinner and Joe Peery.
Coal township: clerk, Glenda Wolf; trustee; Ronald Wolf; and board members Russell Johnson and J.T. Kitsmiller.
Metz township: clerk, Georgia Charles; trustee, Bill Handly; and board members Thomas Charles and Joseph Charles.
Moundville township: clerk, Lisa Bowling; trustee, George Kuhlman; and board members Doug Bowling and Jerry Reedy.
Washington township: clerk, Blanche Balk-Williams; trustee, Ken Jones, with board members Larry Hand and Robert Heathman.
Bronaugh has two, 3-year aldermanic seats with Nancy and Harry Pitts being the only ones who filed and so are elected.
Schell City's North Ward, 1-year aldermanic seat: Eldon Craig. The 2-year aldermanic North Ward seat: Vicki McKinney. The 2-year South Ward aldermanic seat: Broc Koshko. The 1-year term of Mayor: David J. McCubbin.
The Hume R-8 school board has four open seats and only four who filed while Northeast Vernon County R-1 and Sheldon R-8 school districts, each have three seats with three people filing and so, as of April 4, will be considered elected.
Due to a previous resignation, the open 2-year seat will be filled by Verne Wepener while the 3-year seats will be occupied by Brad Steuck, Mark Byrd and Greg Fillpot.
At NEVC, elected are Deland Prough, Jeanne Hoagland and Mike Newman.
Sheldon R-8's three positions will be filled by Gene Leininger, Bill Nance and Marlene Moran.
Stotesbury has a single candidate for the 1-year term of clerk, Marvin Shelton; no candidates have filed for the 2-year term seats on its board.
In Harwood, no one has filed for any of its open seats. The names of write-in candidates will be counted on to fill open seats wherever they occur.
Sheldon will see a new mayor with Robert Sewell being the only filed candidate. There are three candidates for the two open seats in Sheldon, each having, as with the Mayor, a 2-year term. Current Mayor Robert Moran has filed for alderman, as has Lois LeVaugh and Joshua Bean, who has asked and will be listed on the ballot simply as "Bean."
For this year's April 4, General Municipal Election, here are the key dates.
The last day to register to vote is March 8. The first day to vote absentee is Feb. 21, while the last day to mail out an absentee ballot will be March 29, although people can vote absentee, in person, until 5 p.m. on Monday, April 3.
"As we saw last November, turnout is highest in a presidential election but one person actually makes the biggest difference in the spring election. Just about every year, we have candidates elected by a single vote. So I mean it when I say, turn out for the April election because your vote will make a difference," Buehler said.