Kenneth Freeman has worked as a Boone County election judge for more than 20 years, and on Sunday afternoon he put his own yard to work for the cause. Freeman hosted a block party at his home in northeast Boone County, near St. Charles Road and Demaret Drive, timed to overlap with the Sunday hours of the Hogan House food pantry next door — so neighbors picking up groceries could register to vote on their way past, according to KOMU 8.
Ten people registered to vote at the party, which ran from noon to 3 p.m. and drew support from Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon. “Voter registration is important because… everyone’s voice needs to be heard,” Freeman told KOMU. “It’s about being an American. It’s about democracy.”
The timing matters: Missouri’s registration deadline for the November election is Wednesday, Oct. 7. Anyone who wants to vote this fall and isn’t already registered has about a week and a half left to fix that.
Freeman said he invited candidates from both major parties to stop by; on Sunday, it was Democratic campaigns that showed up, including congressional and state legislative hopefuls. He’s also using events like this one to recruit more election judges for future elections — and said he’d specifically like to see more Republicans sign up for the job, so both parties are represented at the polls.
It’s a small, unglamorous piece of how elections actually get run: a retired-enough neighbor with two decades of poll-worker experience, a card table, and a food pantry’s foot traffic. If you’re not registered and want to be ready for November, the Oct. 7 deadline is the one to circle.
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