Expanding Voter Access Through Weekend Satellite Voting Events

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The Boone County Clerk’s Office, which is responsible for conducting elections in Boone County, Missouri, offers satellite voting events on weekends leading up to elections in an effort to expand access for voters beyond standard business hours. Borne out of necessity in 2020 to prevent overcrowding at the polls on Election Day, the office expanded weekend voting opportunities in 2022 and 2023 and now offers hundreds of voters the opportunity to cast their ballot at locations that are safe, secure, and convenient. We partnered with the local shopping mall to set up a polling station on a Sunday inside an empty storefront, worked with local libraries in the rural areas of our county on Saturdays, and operated a drive-thru and walk-up polling station at the county health department for voters who were isolating due to COVID-19 or had disabilities that made getting out of their car difficult. Voters that take advantage of weekend voting have been extremely grateful for the convenience and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.