KANSAS CITY, Mo. — How people vote and how easy the process is during a pandemic has become an issue in a television campaign ad for Missouri secretary of state.
Yinka Faleti is the Democrat hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Jay Ashcroft as secretary of state.
Faleti is running a campaign ad that introduces himself, his family and his military background. But the television spot also goes after Ashcroft.
The ad accuses the Missouri Republican of making it harder to vote and said Ashcroft opposes same-day registration, early voting and mail-in voting.
Faleti's campaign ad cites a pair of newspaper articles, including one from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in February that quotes Ashcroft explaining his opposition to same-day voter registration on Election Day.
“Whenever we’re trying to have stuff going on Election Day, and adding more to the burden of poll workers and to election workers, we’re asking for trouble," Ashcroft said in the article.
When it comes to voting by mail, during a September visit to the Jackson County Election Board, Ashcroft said in a press conference the best way to vote was in-person because it's safe and secure.
The secretary of state explained the outcome could be different when voting by mail.
“Whenever people return their ballot by mail, there's an increase that their vote will not count. Either it’s not notarized, or they didn’t sign something on that ballot envelope, or they didn’t fill it out correctly or the post office returned it late," Ashcroft said at the press conference.
New in 2020, people in Missouri can vote absentee if they qualify by being at risk of COVID-19. Another available option for anyone this year is voting through a mail-in ballot. However, the ballot needs to be notarized.
On the secretary of state's website, a list of locations is included where voters can get their ballot notarized for free.
Reginald Alex is a voter that intends to cast his ballot early.
“I don’t want to run into the large crowds that’s going to be during the time on Nov. 3,” he said.
Missouri voters looking for information on what's needed to vote in this year's election can find it on the Missouri Secretary of State's website.
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