Absentee ballots now available for election Deadline to request the ballots 5 p.m. Oct. 31

Voters may now request or pick up absentee ballots for the Nov. 6 general election.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail or fax is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31. Ballots may be cast in person at the county clerk's office in the Callaway County courthouse until 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5. Ballots mailed in must be received by the clerk's office by 7 p.m. Nov. 6.

Missourians may vote absentee if they will not be in their voting precinct the day of the election, are incapacitated with illness or disability or are caretaking for someone incapacitated and their caretakers, religious practice prevents them from voting in person on election day, they are employed as an election authority for a different polling place than their own, or if they are incarcerated but still retain voting rights.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.