JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – For decades, Missouri voters have gone to the polls to vote in a presidential preference primary, but not anymore and this move is expected to save the state millions.
If you were a Missouri voter in 2020, right before the start of the pandemic, you might remember heading to the holes to vote for your favorite candidate in the presidential preference primary. Back in 2022, the General Assembly voted to do away with it. Now, voters of each party will need to participate in a caucus to choose how delegates will be decided.
“With what Missouri used to do, we would have a primary and then we would have a caucus, so it really didn’t make sense to have both,” Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said. “A potential pro about this is Republicans will get to do it the way they want to, Democrats get to do it the way they want to and Libertarians get to do it the way they want to.”
Instead of heading to the polls every four years to vote in a primary race, caucuses get to decide how delegates are awarded. In a caucus, members of each political party meet and divide into groups according to which candidate they want to win. Then, the number of votes in each group decides how many delegates each candidate wins.
“Participating in the caucus allows one individual to make a much bigger mark in the selection process than just their vote because at that caucus, they actually turn these people from a different candidate to their candidate,” Ashcroft said.
While Ashcroft, who is also running for governor this year, has no say or involvement in this process, he is concerned that some voters might feel left out.
“How do we, with a caucus, make sure to provide an opportunity for every registered voter to participate? That’s the biggest con,” Ashcroft said. “We’ve seen different ideas, and we’ll see what the parties do.”
The Missouri Republican Party plans to caucus in person in counties across the state at the beginning of March. The Democratic Party is primarily using mail-in ballots, meaning Democratic voters must be affiliated with the party in order to vote.
“Doing this will save the state about $10 million,” Ashcroft said. “I’m sure that after we’re done with the caucus, we’ll have a discussion about whether or not the legislature should have removed the primary or not, or if we should go back to that,” Ashcroft said.
Last year, some lawmakers tried to reinstate the presidential preference primary but the proposal failed. Both the chairs of the Missouri Republican Party and Democratic Party have said they are in the favor of reinstating the primary.
According to the Missouri Republican Caucus, all counties will be caucusing at 10 a.m. on March 2. You must be a registered voter in the county you wish to caucus in. You will need to show a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID at the door before entering the caucus. The full list of caucus locations can be found on the GOP’s website.
The Democratic Party will host an in-person presidential preference primary on March 23 in every county. Votes can be cast in person at a polling place in the voter’s county of residence from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. There will be additional polling places in St. Louis and Kansas City. Mail-in ballots will also be available before the primary and must be requested by March 12. Mail-in ballot distribution starts Feb. 12. and ballots must be received by the party by 10 a.m. on March 23. Voters affiliated with the Republican Party will not be permitted to receive a ballot. The Missouri Democratic Party says it will send a postal mailer to all households with a registered Democrat with information on the primary by Feb. 1. For more information, visit the Party’s website.
To register to vote, check your voter registration or to update you political party affiliation, visit the secretary of state’s website.
