After turning in additional petition signatures to the Board of Elections on Dec. 7, St. Louis City Treasurer Tishaura Jones is officially on the primary ballot as a candidate for mayor.
Jones joins Alderwoman Cara Spencer and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who both filed Nov. 23,the first day candidates could do so. They met the signature requirements.
Jones filed to run for mayor Nov. 30, according to city records, but Benjamin Borgmeyer, Board of Elections Democratic director, said 274 signatures on her petition could not be verified or were missing.Â
He noted there were various reasons that could account for the shortage: the signature belongs to someone who isn’t a registered voter, the signature doesn’t match the voter’s on file and the lines that are left blank.
Once notified of the shortage, Jones’ campaign manager Rosetta Okohson said volunteers immediately went to work to gather more signatures.
No additional candidates have filed for the mayoral race Monday.
In November, Dana Kelly announced she would file, but has not done so yet because she was quarantining after she was diagnosed this month with coronavirus and pneumonia.
Jones announced her candidacy for mayor Nov. 4., a day after Prop D passed with a decisive margin of 86,097 votes (68.14%) to 40,261 (31.86%).Â
Prop D makes three major changes to the voting process in Missouri: it establishes a nonpartisan primary, gives voters the ability to approve or disapprove of every candidate on the ballot, and allows the two candidates with the most votes in the primary to advance to the general election.Â
Borgmeyer noted that while voters can vote for as many candidates as they want in the primary, they’re technically only allowed to sign one candidate’s petition per office. However, currently, there’s no way for election officials to cross reference information to make sure someone doesn’t sign more than one.
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