Audrain County residents will have an opportunity to decide various races and questions for the June 2 election. The municipal and county election originally was set to take place April 7, but was postponed by Gov. Mike Parson over COVID-19 concerns.

Those who previously requested absentee ballots will have through close of business Monday to submit ballots to the Audrain County Clerk’s office. The office also will be open 8 a.m. to noon Saturday to receive absentee ballots. Residents should enter the east door of the Audrain County Courthouse.

Locally, two seats are open on the Mexico City Council with five candidates. Incumbent Ayanna Shivers is seeking re-election. Steve Haag, Joshua Price, Thomas Hugo and James Oxford also seek seats. Price ran for a council seat in the 2019 election, while Oxford previously sought a seat on the Mexico Board of Education in 2019.

Mexico has a local use tax question on the ballot. The use tax will match the local sales tax rate, currently 2%, and will only be applied to purchases from out-of-state vendors. The use tax rate will adjust the same as the sales tax rate.

“The purpose of the proposal is to eliminate the current sales tax advantage non-Missouri vendors have over Missouri vendors,” the ballot language reads.

A “yes” vote will allow the city of Mexico to collect the use tax, while a “no” vote, will not. Missouri collects the use tax but cannot disburse it to Mexico without voter approval. The additional revenue from the use tax will go toward paying for the Fairground Pool replacement.

Three seats on the Mexico school board are open. Incumbents Dustin Pascoe and Kelli Teel are seeking re-election. Lisa Ovaitt and Todd Yager also seek a seat. Member Brian Rowe is not seeking re-election.

Audrain County and Martinsburg also have local use tax questions on the ballot. The use tax rate will match their respective sales tax rates of 1.75% and 1.5%. Like with the Mexico ballot question, the state collects the use tax but cannot disburse without voter approval. The use tax rate will adjust the same as the sales tax rate.

Other county ballot questions and races

Laddonia

Voters in Laddonia will decide whether to start moving all money above $25,000 in the police fund to the general fund starting with the fiscal year ending June 30. The police fund will remain at $25,000, with any excess going to the general fund.

Gary Garnett and Amber Snyder are seeking two-year terms on the board of aldermen.

Jon Robnett, Greg Fort, Debbie Carline and Stephen Schafer are seeking the three open seats on the Community R-6 Board of Education.

Martinsburg

Joshua Graver is seeking a Ward 1 alderman seat for a two-year term. A Ward 2 alderman seat is open but has no candidate.

Benton City

Voters in Benton City will decide whether to approve $500,000 in revenue bonds to update the community’s sewage system. Bond repayment will come from revenue derived by the sewage system operation, including future extension and improvement.

Lois Hays, Diana Holguin and Frank Winn are seeking two-year trustee positions for Benton City.

Vandiver Village

Teddy Joe Wieberg, Paul Nixon, and Kathleen Gronauer seek two open trustee positions for two-year terms.

Other school district questions and races

Jessica A. Chase, Kerry Burke, Scott Ball, Jamie Ebbesmeyer, Tyler Webb and Jason J. Chapman seek three open seats on the Paris R-2 School Board for three-year terms.

Jamie Hill, Ann Schmidt, Rebecca P. Wall, Kendall E. Pipes, and Timothy Safranski are seeking three open seats on the North Callaway R-1 School District board for three-year terms. Sandra L. Lavy is seeking a two-year term.