ST. PETERS, Mo. – St. Charles County voters cast absentee ballots Thursday at the county election authority in St. Peters. It’s an early voting trend election director Kurt Bahr hopes will continue ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.

“We encourage people, starting Oct. 22, if you know how you want to vote, come to the election authority or to our satellite location at the Element Church, and cast your vote before Election Day,” he said.

Bahr says in-person absentee voting is down significantly from 2020.

“I think that decrease is because of COVID. In 2020, voters wanted to avoid the lines, and so you came to the election board,” he said.

St. Charles County residents can expect to find sample ballots in their mail next week. On Oct. 24, Bahr says the county will test the accuracy of its voting machines.

“We will have the public test, and we invite all members of the public to come,” he said. “And this is a way to see that the ballot counting machines that we use Election Day accurately work and count your vote every single time, no matter how you vote.”

Bahr tells us voters seem focused on a specific race and amendment.

“When I engage with the public and talk to voters for the most part, their top two concerns are the presidential election and the Amendment 3 ballot measure. Those are the two things that most voters seem to be most engaged about,” he said.

More than 300,000 voters have registered in St. Charles County. A history-making mark that Bahr is proud of.

“I think that is a wonderful thing. It shows just how engaged St. Charles County residents are to have such a high level of voter registration,” Bahr said.