Unfortunately the law does not require the election authorities to provide sample ballots to the candidates nor party leaders for the general election. Because of problems with the primary and in order to try to generate greater participation in voting in the general election the Missouri Secretary of State's office, candidates and the political parties should encourage election authorities to provide sample ballots to the candidates and political parties for the general election and under 115.129 RsMo. to actually mail a sample ballot to each registered voter. Perhaps the secretary of state could find funds or corporate sponsors to pay for all registered voters in the statewide database to be in the least mailed a sample ballot of all the statewide races and issues along with instructions for voting either punch card or optical scan ballots and when to vote. Publication of lists of who and what is on the ballot simply is not enough. Many people do not read newspapers. People need to be shown how to mark a ballot and reminded over and over what is actually on the ballot and of the need to vote. A web page from the secretary of state's office showing people how to vote a punch card ballot or an optical scan ballot and what is on the ballot would also send more people to the polls. The same diagrams could be placed on a video and aired around the state as public service announcements and in the schools and libraries to generate greater participation at the polls. And certainly the secretary of state should publish instructions for the election authorities to give to election judges emphasizing the importance of upholding all election laws, not electioneering at the polls or pushing for straight party voting, the importance of each ballot, and penalties for violations of election laws.

For the 2000 primary the following counties did not bother to provide any pretense of sample ballots to the candidates: Adair, Barry, Butler, Crawford, Hickory, Jefferson, Knox, McDonald, Saline, and Schuyler.

Iron, Lafayette, Moniteau, and Ray counties actually sent Official Ballots to candidates.

Numerous other election authorities provided bogus sample ballots to candidates that did not comply with the law. Notified in time to have done something positive to prevent problems at the polls, Henry Adkins and Son, Inc. supporter, Betsy Milner, Deputy Secretary of State-Elections dismissed those problems by claiming only drafts had been sent and implying sample ballots would be sent later. Candidates are still waiting for proper sample ballots from many election authorities.

The worst culprits with bogus sample ballots included Jackson County, which sent the newspaper publication page as a sample ballot. Sure enough, that was what they also placed at the polls as the sample ballot on election day totally confusing people as to the real ballot. Shortly before the polls closed on election day Marvalene Pankey(MP)finally got to meet with two attorneys for the Jackson County Board of Elections, Mr. Terry and Mr. Constance. After looking at the statutes requiring the sample ballot at the polls to be identical to the official ballot they both seemed amazed. Although they saw that law and several other election laws as impractical they agreed it was the current law and Jackson County has for years not complied with it. The Kansas City Board of Elections refused to show what they had had at the polls, but Sharon Turner claimed they did not switch any position numbers as the non-sample list they had sent to candidates had claimed they might do. Buchanan County provided a sample ballot to candidates without the ovals and on their web site proudly proclaimed they had also had such at the polls, also absent the proper party emblems and in the case of the Libertarian ballot, the party name spelled as LiVertarian. St. Charles County provided a sample ballot that appeared more like a list although punch card position numbers were present, there were no arrows as on normal punch card ballot labels and no instructions. A personal visit to the St. Charles County county clerk's office proved what was sent to the candidates was not a sample ballot at all, but that the booklet provided as the ballot label for the polls was confusing and did not even have the political parties on different colored pages. Instead of separate colored pages the St. Charles ballot labels had all parties on white paper with tiny colored tabs. Since St. Charles County uses Henry Adkins and Son, Inc. as a vendor it is feared this type setup was used in numerous places using a punch card system. New Madrid County and Webster County also provided sample ballots absent the ovals.

St. Louis County sent a list versus a sample ballot, reluctantly provided a different 'sample ballot' when asked and had a third version on the wall at the absentee polling place. August 28 they mailed a copy of the election returns and included an "official ballot" label absent the ballot card. In spite of the ballot label having "START HERE" beside her St. Louis opponent, Arnie Dienoff's name, Marvalene Pankey carried St. Louis County with over 62 per cent of the vote.

Henry County completely left off the party emblem.

No one provided the ballot label and ballot card for the punch card sample ballots and no one provided the complete booklet as was used in most places for the punch card ballot labels, with all political parties in one booklet. The ballot cards could have bolder numbers for some candidates or punch positions that would not punch as has been reported in some elections. Milner claimed the secretary of state does not approve a form for the ballot card nor the ballot labels thus the vendors could influence the election with all sorts of tricks.

Although the sample ballot provided by the City of St. Louis seemed better than most they suddenly printed a notice of the election July 24, 2000 for ONLY the Reform Party and Constitution Party, page C10, St. Louis Post Dispatch. When asked to explain that publication they failed to respond.

Many sample ballots on white paper were sent,although the law clearly states the sample must be on colored paper. Some election authorities went so far as to claim white was a tint.

It is not known if some counties, such as Carter, that had the addresses of candidates on the sample ballots also placed that information on the official ballot.

Several counties did not provide instructions on the sample ballot as required and it is not known if the instructions were available at the polls or if the instructions were in the proper place versus trying to influence votes as St. Louis County did with the placement of "START HERE" beside MP's opponent's name.

Many of the sample ballot problems out state again could be blamed on Henry M. Adkins and Son, Inc., who left the instructions off the punch card sample ballots, placed the party emblem very tiny and in the wrong place, and provided one page from what was actually a booklet of all the political parties confusing the voters in the primary. Even Elkins Swyers confused voters with the punch card ballots again in booklets containing all the political parties although only one page was sent as sample ballots. Elkins Swyers also included a write in instruction to further confuse voters. And Phelps County reported Elkins did not provide enough sample ballots thus they had to copy and send white paper samples.

However, the problems with the sample ballots seemed somewhat trite after the discovery of 686 SW2d 888 case law wherein the Kansas City Court of Appeals had clearly outlined the power of the secretary of state to insure a real primary election versus a mere sham selection could take place. The court in 1985 set forth the requirements that ballot labels for a primary be totally separate for each political party on the ballot and that further at least one voting booth be provided for each party with the party name on it. The court noted the confusion caused by giving the voters access to the ballot labels for all political parties and allowing them to only vote for one. They also noted the disparity between such a system for punch card voting and those voting on paper, hand counted ballots or on an opti scan system ballot. The Code of State Regulations and essentially all the election laws at issue in that case have not changed. All that changed was Roy Blunt succeeded James Kirkpatrick as secretary of state and Blunt did not enforce the election laws nor the case law. From the Blunt plan to insure elections could be manipulated in Missouri all the subsequent secretaries of state have believed they cannot enforce election laws nor the Code of State Regulations in regards to elections.

St. Charles County this year was a prime example of taking violation of 686 SW2d 888 even further. Instead of even having different colored pages for the various political parties they were using tiny colored tabs on white pages for the ballot label containing all the political parties. And in Jasper County election judges repeatedly were giving out Libertarian ballot cards when the person asked for Reform. The ballot card for all the minor parties was the same color.

MP observed vote tabulation primary election night in Kansas City. It was appalling to observe locks and perhaps ballot boxes being switched, excuses of the elevator being out of order until ballot boxes could be taken to a back room then the elevator would work fine again, admissions that boxes were furthermore being unlocked at satellite collection sights, no order to the counting by precinct as delivered as required by law, and an uneven number of major political party reps. observing the actual tabulation. Returns appeared generated from on line and a back room printer versus having anything to do with the ballot cards placed on the tabulation software.

Reports from election day in Caldwell, Cedar, and Jackson County were that ballots with the issues were not being automatically given to all voters and that some ballots contained the issues while others did not and a separate ballot was to be specifically asked for.

And reports from Cedar, Cole, Dade, Lawrence that election judges were asking whether the voter wanted a Republican or Democrat Party ballot without mentioning the minor parties. Counties where zero minor party votes were cast may very well have not had the minor party ballots available at the polls at all and most likely the Republican and Democrat Party judges pushed their party ballots. Those counties included Daviess, Harrison, Holt, Lewis, Pemiscot, Putnam, Reynolds, Shelby, and Sullivan. Atchison, Clark, Dallas, Knox, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Monroe, Mississippi, Ozark, and Randolph counties with only one minor party ballot each also seems very suspect that an actual primary with all the ballots equally available was held. Most of those with zero or only one minor party ballot counted used Henry M. Adkins as a vendor for tabulation software. Paper ballots were actually used in Clark, Harrison, and Reynolds counties.

It is also highly improbable that repetitive digits in the results are accurate, ie. 10 votes each for MP and Dienoff in Franklin County; 22 Libertarian ballots; and 12 Constitution Party ballots; and again 10 vote each for MP and Dienoff in Greene County. Nor is it likely that none of the lessor known challengers in the statewide races on the major parties had zero votes in any county.

It is not known if Benton County used two different types of software for tabulation.

By the legalese philosophy of recent years none of this would matter because the total number of ballots cast for a candidate would supposedly not change the results. Such a view is as absurd as Milner's bogus claim that sample ballots sent to candidates were mere drafts. There is no way of knowing how many voters actually tried to vote for minor party candidates and could not or were merely given the wrong minor party ballot or a major party ballot. There is no way of knowing how many ballots were actually cast for any candidate versus the numbers spit out as results from computers. There is no way of knowing how many voters will never return to the polls because they were the victim of or heard of problems such as in Clay County where they ran out of some ballots and used copy machine ballots to allegedly hand count although an opti scan system should have worked from copies, but the ballot box could have also been easily stuffed and even one voter turned away without voting should have invalidated the entire election. There is no way of knowing how many people were confused by the so called sample ballots on the walls of many polling places that were not an exact copy of the official ballot as required by law at all. There is no way of knowing where the St. Louis Post Dispatch TEST returns printed on line for over a week before the primary came from or how much those numbers influenced voting or reflected the percentages already established by the tabulation software vendors. There is no way of knowing who actually won any of the Missouri primary 2000 and who the real party loyalists of any political party wanted for their nominees.

The Missouri Primary 2000 was a spoof as most elections have been since 1985. Missouri election laws and code of state regulations in regards to elections have been rendered meaningless by those who have thumbed their noses at the importance of each ballot and the right of candidates and voters to have perfect elections. It is too late to fully remedy the Missouri VOTESCAM for the 2000 election, but insistence on a fair fall election can be one step closer to a proper remedy.