Cape Girardeau County saw an increase in absentee ballots during the November 2024 General Election. This year, there were 15,705 absentee ballots cast compared to 13,990 in 2020. This is likely due to recent changes in Missouri’s absentee voting laws, according to Joshua Wiseman, Chief Deputy and Supervisor of Elections for Cape Girardeau County.
“This was actually the first year we’ve had two weeks of no-excuse absentee,” Wiseman said. “Prior to August of 2022, you had to have an excuse, whether you were out of town or incapacitated, but in August 2022, lawmakers instituted two weeks of no-excuse absentee voting—the last two weeks of that absentee period. So, this has really been our first real general election with that.”
According to Wiseman, although no-excuse absentee voting was tested during the November 2022 midterms, the turnout was understandably lower compared to the 2024 General Election.
“Before 2022, absentee voting required a specific excuse. Now, you have two weeks where we don’t ask you for any excuse—you can just come in and essentially vote early,” Wiseman said. “That explains why so many more people voted absentee in 2024 versus 2020 and subsequent presidential years as well.”
Absentee Voting and Voter Turnout
Despite the increase in absentee ballots, voter turnout in Cape Girardeau County remained steady at 73.31%, the same as in 2020. Wiseman believes that the stability in turnout could reflect the overall satisfaction with the voting process.
“We’ve done a good job of dispelling any circulating disbelief in our elections here,” Wiseman noted. “We try to get the word out to the community and invite anyone that may have a question or speculation to come and view the process. So we can increase that sense of security in our voters in the area.”
Undervotes and Overvotes
In addition to the increase in absentee ballots, undervotes—ballots where voters choose not to select a candidate in one or more races—were low given the size of the ballot. There were just 268 undervotes in the 2024 election, which Wiseman described as lower than expected given the length of the ballot.
“Typically, especially with the ballot this long, undervotes are usually larger,” Wiseman said. “We had a 17-inch ballot this year that was double-sided. People usually vote for the president, but we had so many hot-ticket items that people really felt passionate about.”
Among those hot-ticket items were Missouri Amendments 2 and 3, which sparked lots of passion and public interest. Amendment 2, which legalized sports betting, and Amendment 3, which protected abortion rights, sparked intense debate across the state and likely motivated voters to engage more fully with the ballot.
Overvotes and Election Integrity
Wiseman also discussed overvotes, where voters select more than one candidate in a race, rendering their vote invalid. In 2024, there were nine overvotes, a small but notable number. These overvotes typically occur when voters are unsure, confused, or change their minds during the voting process.
“When that happens, our machines are designed to spit the ballot back out and let you know which race you over-voted,” Wiseman said. “Typically, we encourage people to spoil their ballot—bring it back, we mark it ‘spoiled,’ and give them a new one.”
However, absentee voters don’t have the option to correct an overvote once the ballot has been mailed in. In these cases, the overvote is recorded but not counted toward the final tally of votes.
“Some people might overvote if they changed their mind, but if that happens, we just don’t count those votes,” Wiseman explained.
It’s just recorded as an overvote, but it doesn’t count toward the total votes cast.
The shift to no-excuse absentee voting, while still relatively new, seems to have become a popular option for voters who want greater flexibility in how and when they cast their ballots. As the county continues to adapt to these changes, officials are optimistic that the process will continue to run smoothly and that public trust in the system will remain high.
The complete and certified 2024 General Election results for Cape Girardeau County can be found on the Cape County Clerk's website, and all of Missouri's results are available on the Missouri Secretary of State's website.
