Not a Keyboard Warrior: Early Voting Opens Today

Liking this post isn't enough. Here's what real engagement looks like.

Today, Tuesday, October 20, no-excuse absentee voting opens in person across Missouri for the November 3 general election. Any registered voter can walk into their county election office, show a photo ID and cast a ballot. No excuse needed. That window runs through Monday, November 2.

That makes today a good day to talk about something Walter wrote in the introduction to Right Side Up: A Tale of Two Parties:

"I believe the answer is still the people, if we'll decide to engage as we should and be part of the solution- and that doesn't mean as a keyboard warrior either. We need real engagement which means being part of the process, helping to elect candidates we believe will govern well our finances and our votes, and sometimes being that candidate when duty calls."

The keyboard is not the courthouse

We have all done it. We read something that makes our blood boil, we type a sharp comment, we hit share, and we feel like we've done our part. Maybe we even feel like we've won the argument.

But nobody in Jefferson City counted that comment. The county commission didn't hear it. The school board never saw it.

Social media has its place. Right Side Up Missouri uses it to get information out, and we hope you'll share what you find here. But sharing is the start, not the finish. A republic runs on people who show up in person: to vote, to sit in the meeting, to make the phone call, to knock on the door and sometimes to run.

Real engagement, starting this week

Here is a short list. None of it requires a title or a big platform. All of it counts more than a comment.

1. Vote early, in person.

• No-excuse absentee voting is open from Tuesday, October 20, through Monday, November 2, during the two weeks before the election.
• In Jasper County, the County Clerk's elections office is in the Jasper County Courthouse, 302 S. Main St., Carthage. Call ahead or check the Clerk's page for hours and locations.
• Bring a valid photo ID.
• Look at your sample ballot first. The Jasper County Clerk posts sample ballots for the November 3 election on the county website.

2. If you need a mail ballot, don't wait.

Missouri still requires a reason (an excuse) to vote absentee by mail. Requests sent by mail are due by 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday before the election: Wednesday, October 21. Mailed ballots must be received by the time polls close on Election Day. A postmark doesn't count.

3. Vote on Election Day.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3. If you're in line by 7, you can vote.

4. Go to one public meeting before the year is out.

Pick one: the county commission, your city council or your school board. Sit in the back if you like. Just be there. Those bodies make decisions every month that touch your property taxes, your roads and your kids' classrooms, and most of the time almost nobody from the public is watching.

5. Call your state representative and state senator once.

Introduce yourself. Tell them one thing you care about. They work for you, and they should know your name.

6. Get involved with a local civic group or party committee.

Every county has people who keep things running: precinct volunteers, poll workers, committee members and club officers. Most of those groups are short-handed. They'd be glad to see you.

7. Pray, and then consider running.

Walter's line about "sometimes being that candidate when duty calls" is not a throwaway. School boards, city councils, township boards and county committees all need good people. Somebody is going to sit in that chair. It might as well be someone who believes power belongs to the people.

Why it matters

The book's central question is simple: who gets to decide governance, and how far away from the people should those decisions be made?

When we stay home, the answer moves farther away. When we show up, it comes back closer. That doesn't happen through a screen. It happens at the courthouse, the polling place and the school board table.

So here's our ask. Before you scroll past this, pick one thing from the list above and do it this week. Then come back and tell us which one you picked.

Early voting is open. Go use it.

Follow the series at [rightsideupmissouri.com/blog](https://rightsideupmissouri.com/blog).

Want the whole story? Get your copy of Right Side Up: A Tale of Two Parties by Walter Hayes, in paperback or hardcover, [here](https://rightsideupmissouri.com/book?utm_source=rightsideupmissouri&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=book&utm_content=not-a-keyboard-warrior).

Sources

• Walter Hayes, IV, Right Side Up: A Tale of Two Parties, Introduction.
• Missouri Secretary of State, "Voting Rights FAQ" (absentee and no-excuse absentee voting): https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/votingrights
• Missouri Secretary of State, GoVoteMissouri: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri
• Jasper County Clerk (elections office, sample ballots): https://www.jaspercountymo.gov/county-clerk