St. Louis Co.: 253 voters, not 600, wrongly told ineligible

CLAYTON, Mo. – St. Louis County election officials now say 253 voters, not the 600 originally announced, were mistakenly advised that they are ineligible to vote in Tuesday’s election.

Republican elections director Rick Stream said Thursday that letters were mistakenly sent to 600 voters telling them they missed the registration deadline. But Democratic director Eric Fey later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that was only an estimate, and that the real number was 253.

About 150 of the voters caught the error and were restored to the rolls. Election officials are trying to reach the others.

The error was caused by confusion over voter registrations that arrived after Missouri’s Oct. 10 deadline. Election workers were unaware that registration forms postmarked or signed by Oct. 10 should have counted, regardless of when they arrived.