Proposition Q Voters Will Vote Separately, On Paper

Maplewood residents who vote on Proposition Q on Tuesday will find a slightly different procedure.

Proposition Q will not be loaded onto the electronic touch screen, and a voter will need to ask for a paper ballot to vote on Proposition Q.

St. Louis County Director of Elections Rita Heard Days said the proposition was submitted late.

"Initially they first had to get the signatures, after they did that, we had to certify that those were all good signatures. Between that time, it took them a little time to figure out if they were going to move forward with that," she said.

An originator of the referendum, Tonya Powell, said they were not late, or the city and board of elections would not have accepted the petition. 

She said all their petition submissions were directly to the city. "We did not submit anything to the Board of Elections. That is the city's responsibility," Powell said.

"It is my understanding that the city submitted the ballot language too late and that is why there are two ballots," she said.

Maplewood City Manager Marty Corcoran said nobody was late, and it couldn't have been done any earlier.

"There was nobody late in filing," he said. "We had to go to court to put it on to abide by the requirements of the charter."

Proposition Q is the referendum on the ordinance that allows QuikTrip to move from its current spot in Maplewood to the northwest corner of Manchester Road and Big Bend Boulevard. A yes vote agrees with the ordinance and the QuikTrip move. A no vote goes against the move.