Voter registration grows in advance of Wednesday's deadline

A competitive race for U.S. Senate and various ballot measures have spurred increased voter registration, Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said Tuesday.

Today marks the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 6 election. Voters have until 5 p.m. to register, Summers said.

With the deadline near, Summers said her office has seen an influx of voter applications, both in person and online.

The county clerk�s office has been receiving 25 to 100 new applications a day, she said.

�It�s been very busy,� she added.

Summers said numerous Southeast Missouri State University students have registered to vote. College students may vote in the county where their college is located or in their home counties, she said.

Several groups have been holding voter registration drives in advance of the November election, Summers said.

Issues dealing with medical marijuana and the minimum wage have sparked some of the voter registration efforts, she said.

The county had more than 52,000 registered voters as of August, which doesn�t take into account all the new registrations, she said.

Summers said anyone who is uncertain whether he or she is properly registered should contact her office before today�s deadline.