Absentee voting for the August primary election started this week.

Thanks to changes approved by the Missouri Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, more Missourians can take advantage of mailing in ballots for this election than ever before.

This is a fantastic development, and while we’re reserving comment on permanently voting by mail, we’re glad that everyone came together to make it a reality for the August and November elections — although we agree with the League of Women Voters that voting without a notary signature would be an even better option.

But if you’re voting by mail this year, keep in mind that the St. Louis Call will feature its Election Guide for the August election in the July 23 print issue, coming to your mailboxes.

In that issue, you’ll find candidate questionnaires from county executive candidates. Questionnaires have been sent to all the candidates, Democratic and Republican. They are the most extensive questions and answers that these candidates will fill out.

What does County Executive Sam Page have to say about what he will do about economic development in South County? What does Mark Mantovani have to say about how the county’s coronavirus response has been handled? What does county Assessor Jake Zimmerman think about defunding the police? Those are all questions asked of all the candidates. You’ll see all their responses, and if they choose not to respond, you’ll see that too.

It’s the same for the three-way Democratic primary of contenders who are facing off in August for the chance to challenge 6th District Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-Oakville, in the November election.

What do the three candidates — Rep. Bob Burns, Alex Lange and former Mehlville Board of Education President Venki Palamand — have to say on county zoning projects, County Executive Sam Page and the current Democratic County Council? All that and more will be on these pages July 23.

So we encourage you to take advantage of voting by mail or early voting during the coronavirus pandemic. But if you want to arm yourself with all the information you can possibly have before heading to that voting booth or sending back that envelope, you’ll want to stay tuned for the July 23 issue of The Call. Happy voting.