Absentee voting is underway for the Tuesday, November 8 general election. Voters will elect the U.S. president, one U.S. senator in Missouri, and the Missouri governor, attorney general and secretary of state, among other officials. Voters also will pass or reject a voter photo ID constitutional amendment, among other constitutional amendments.
The deadline to vote absentee in-person is 5 p.m. Monday, November 7. The deadline for the election board to receive an absentee ballot request by mail or fax is 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 2.
Any eligible voter prevented from going to the polls on election day for a number of approved reasons may vote by absentee ballot.
Those reasons include absence from your voting district on election day, incapacity or confinement due to sickness or disability (including caring for a person who is incapacitated or confined), religious belief or practice, employment as an election authority, incarceration, absence from the country as a government official, and active service in the U.S. armed forces (or dependent or spouse thereof).
Voters registered in Missouri who moved into a new Missouri voting district after the 4th Wednesday prior to an election, which in this case is October 12; former residents of Missouri who are authorized to vote for federal offices by federal law; and certified participants in the address confidentiality program, because of safety concerns, also may vote by absentee.
According to Missouri law, a voter may apply for an absentee ballot in person, by mail, or by fax.
A registered voter may apply for an absentee ballot in person or for a relative within the first or second degree of blood relation or affinity at their local election board. The relationship to the family member must be specified on the application. For a chart that shows degrees of blood relation, visit https://goo.gl/iAyuX3.
In St. Louis County, vote absentee in person at the election office at 3232 Laclede Station Rd. in the Deer Creek Shopping Plaza in Maplewood. The hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
In St. Louis city, vote absentee in person at the election office at 300 N. Tucker Blvd. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. (On Saturday, November 5, those hours will be extended to 9 a.m. to 3 pm.)
You should bring an approved form of identification. Approved forms of identification include an ID issued by the federal government, State of Missouri or a local election authority; an ID issued by a Missouri institution (public or private) of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school; a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter; a driver’s license or state identification card issued by another state.
To vote absentee through the mail, you must reapply for a ballot for each election. To download and print an application in St. Louis County, visit https://goo.gl/mWsELe. To download the absentee ballot of application for St. Louis city, visit https://goo.gl/YRo8a8.
The absentee ballot request must be received by the election board by 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 2.
If you are unable to obtain a copy of the ballot application, you may also mail or fax a written request to the local election board. The letter should contain the name of voter, birthdate and last four digits of social security number, registered voting address, address where ballot is to be mailed, reason for voting absentee, election for you which are requesting an absentee ballot, signature of the voter, signature of person applying for a ballot and their relationship to the voter.
Anyone registering by mail may vote absentee the first time only after enclosing a copy of an approved form of identification with his or her absentee ballot request.
A registered voter may apply for their absentee ballot or an absentee ballot for a family member within two degrees of blood relation or affinity by fax to 314-615-1998. The relationship to the family member must be specified on the application. For a chart that shows degrees of blood relation, visit https://goo.gl/iAyuX3.
If you are voting absentee for any reason other than being disabled, part of the active military, or currently in a foreign country, you will need to sign your ballot return envelope in the presence of a notary public.
Absentee ballot requests must be mailed or faxed to the Election Board no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 2.
In St. Louis County, absentee ballot applications may be returned by mail to: St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, Attention: Absentee Department, 12 Sunnen Dr., Suite 126, St. Louis, MO 63143. Or fax to 314-615-1998.
In St. Louis city, absentee ballot applications may be returned by mail to: St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, 300 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101. Or fax to 314-622-3378.
If you are voting absentee by mail, your notarized affidavit envelope, with your voted ballot inside, must be returned to the election board no later than 7 p.m. the day of the election. The ballot may be returned by the voter in person, through the mail, or by registered carrier or a registered voter’s relative within two degrees of blood relation.
Voters who are permanently disabled, or their caregiver, may apply to be on the permanently disabled voter list. Once placed on the permanent absentee list, a voter will automatically be mailed an absentee ballot application for each election held within their voting jurisdiction. To download a copy of the permanently disabled for St. Louis County, visit https://goo.gl/NKF9IO. For permanent disabled status in St. Louis city, call 314-622-3230 or 314-622-3319.
As of late morning on Wednesday, October 19, the St. Louis County election board had processed just over 36,500 absentee ballot applications and received just over 17,000 ballots back from voters. “So far, this is tracking very similarly to the past two presidential elections in St. Louis County,” said Eric Fey, Democratic director of elections for St. Louis County.
In St. Louis city, the election board had processed approximately 6,000 absentee ballot applications and received back approximately 1,500 absentee ballots from voters by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, October 19, according to Mary Wheeler-Jones, Democrat director of elections for St. Louis.
Fey added that the ballot this November is unusually long. He strongly encouraged voters to study and mark a sample ballot before voting. Sample ballots may be found on the local election board’s website.
For additional absentee voting information in St. Louis County, please call 314-615-1933 or 314-615-1836 or visit http://www.stlouisco.com/YourGovernment/Elections.
In St. Louis city, call 314-622-4336 or visit https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/.
