Pocahontas board chosen through write-in ballots

When voters in Pocahontas go to the polls April 8, their ballots will be fill-in-the-blank, not multiple choice.

No candidates' names appear on the ballot for the town's board of trustees, because no one filed to run.

Instead, to fill the five seats on the board, residents will write in the names of candidates they deem worthy. The top five vote-getters will become board members, who then choose a mayor, clerk and treasurer, Pocahontas Mayor Mark Kasten said.

"It's worked since the town was incorporated back in the 1800s," he said. " ... It's almost always been a write-in."

Board member Bill Holley said a sign in the post office alerts residents to upcoming board elections.

Rather than filing a notice of candidacy with the county clerk, those who are interested in serving simply make their intentions known by word-of-mouth, he said.

"I think [for] the election coming up, we have a couple of people that showed a little bit of interest," Holley said.

Joey Keys, election supervisor for Cape Girardeau County, said Pocahontas isn't the only place with open seats and no candidates seeking to fill them.

In Old Appleton, out of four board spots, two are uncontested, and two are open for write-ins. Oak Ridge has one open slot with no candidates, and Public Water Supply District 5, Subdistrict 2, has no candidates for an open spot on its board, Keys said.

"This is odd that there's three [towns] at one time," he said. "It's not too common, but it does happen."

In races with at least one candidate on the ballot, write-in candidates must file with the county and show proof of eligibility to run, or votes cast for them are not counted, Keys said.

If no candidates have filed for a particular office, however, every write-in vote is counted, and the county passes the results along to the community's leaders, he said.

"We certify the results to the town board, and then it's up to them to contact the people who win and say, 'Are you interested?'" Keys said.

He said the lack of candidates in some areas may have to do with the size of the communities. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Old Appleton has 85 residents, Pocahontas has 114, and Oak Ridge has 243.

"They are pretty small communities," Keys said.

In Pocahontas, Holley and Kasten currently serve alongside board members Richard Winter and Wilbert Reisenbichler.

The board has one vacancy, which Kasten expects the April election to fill.

"If there's a shortage for a while, it's not that big a deal," he said.

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department handles law enforcement for Pocahontas, and the Fruitland Volunteer Fire District provides fire coverage, so at its monthly meetings, the board primarily handles infrastructure issues: filling potholes in roads, maintaining the sewer system and paying the power bill for the streetlights, Kasten and Holley said.

"It's like a lifetime job when you get on the board," Kasten said. " ... I know lots of people have served 25 and 30 years. ... It's kind of just re-electing the same people."

Holley is in his fourth year on the board.

"They just said, 'Well, he's dumb enough to do this,'" he joked. "I think they just asked me, and I said, well, I would."

Occasionally, a board member steps down, moves away or dies, leaving a vacancy, Kasten said.

In such cases, someone -- often the person with the next-highest number of votes in the previous election -- is appointed to replace the missing board member, he said.

"It's just kind of an easygoing, laid-back way to do it, and it's always worked," Kasten said.

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