FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. – Voters across Franklin County are preparing to go to the polls for the November general election. As no-excuse absentee voting begins Oct. 22 in Missouri, voters may still be unfamiliar with county-specific items on their ballot.
This is a guide for registered voters within Franklin County. You can see your sample ballot here.
Ballots consist of various amendments, judges, presidential choices, and ballot issues. Election officials encourage vote absentee as it will take extra time to fill out the ballot, which could create longer lines of waiting on Nov. 5.
County Seats
Voters will have the opportunity to vote for candidates in four or five local Franklin County seats.
Each voter will vote on candidates for the Franklin County Sheriff, Assessor, Treasurer and Public Administrator role. Candidates in all four of these races are running unopposed. The candidates include:
Steven Pelton for sheriff
Dawn Copeland Mentz for assessor
Debbie Willming Aholt for treasurer
Mary Jo Straatmann for public administrator.
Depending on the voter’s jurisdiction, some may also be voting for the Franklin County Commissioner – District 1 seat. Paul Overschmidt is running unopposed in this race. This seat represents half of Franklin County.
Missouri U.S. Representative
Every voter in Franklin County will voter for a candidate for a Missouri United States Representative seat for District 2, which represents Franklin County and other parts of the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The candidates include Ann Wagner (Republican), Ray Hartmann (Democrat), Brandon Daugherty (Libertarian) and Shelby Davis (Green Party)
Missouri State Reps. for Franklin County
Three district seats that represent parts of Franklin County within the Missouri House of Representatives have candidates up for election. A voter could be making a selection based on their jurisdiction.
State Rep. District Seat 109 candidates up for vote include Eleanor Maynard (Democrat) and John Simmons (Republican).
State Rep. District Seat 118 candidate Mike McGirl (Republican) is up for vote and will run unopposed.
State Rep. District Seat 119 candidates up for vote include Amy Thompson (Democrat) and Brad Banderman (Republican).
Judges
All Franklin County voters will have the opportunity to vote for a circuit judge within one division of Circuit 20, along with a Franklin County Municipal judge. Candidates Craig E. Hellmann and Ben Hotz are running in those respective races unopposed.
Additionally, voters will have the opportunity to vote on the possibility of retention for two judges representing the Missouri Supreme Court and five judges representing the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals.
Local ballot measures
There are no county-wide propositions on the ballot for the November 2024 election, according to Tim Baker, the election authority chief for Franklin County. Voters in the cities of Sullivan and St. Clair will see one local ballot measure pertaining to fire emergency management services.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S ON MISSOURI BALLOTS
Other topics on the ballot
Beyond the county propositions and judges on the ballot, voters will also see statewide amendments, propositions, and races for different positions.
To learn more on each issue, click on the links below.
Race for Governor
Race for Lieutenant Governor
Race for Secretary of State
Race for State Treasurer
Reagan Haase
Race for Attorney General