Absentee voting opens in Missouri on Tuesday, September 22. What should a Missouri secretary of state who wants all eligible voters to vote and all votes to count be telling voters about voting absentee in this election?
The American asked this and similar questions of Yinka Faleti, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, Missouri’s highest election authority, and a U.S. Army veteran with extensive experience in the non-profit sector.
Yinka Faleti: Missouri law for this year allows voters who meet certain criteria enumerated under the law to vote absentee. Were I Missouri’s secretary of state, I would want as many eligible Missourians to vote as possible. As such, I would be highlighting to voters that many legal experts agree that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Missourians are able to vote absentee under reasons no. 2 and no. 7 enumerated in the law, specifically: incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability or caring for someone as such; and a voter who has contracted or is in an at-risk category for contracting COVID, including all voters 65 years of age or older, respectively.
The American: Our local election authority told us that his office has no investigative staff to challenge people’s claims that they need to vote absentee, and we are aware of no one who has been challenged or whose absentee vote has been discounted. Given the unprecedented nature of current Republican attacks on the voting process, is there any reason for someone to fear being investigated after voting absentee and having their vote discounted?
Yinka Faleti: We cannot allow fear to prevent us from exercising our voice and our choice by our vote. What we should be fearful of is what could happen if we do not vote. Legal experts agree that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most Missourians are able to vote absentee under reasons no. 2 and no. 7 enumerated in the new law.
The American: What are the new vote-by-mail provisions in Missouri and when does that voting process open? What should a Missouri secretary of state who wants all eligible voters to vote and all votes to count be telling voters about voting by mail in this election?
Yinka Faleti: Mail-in ballot applications should be submitted to local election authorities either in person or by mail, but the actual mail-in ballot must be returned by mail, not in person, by 7 p.m. on election day. October 21 is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot for the November 3 election. Mail-in ballots must be notarized, unless one is seriously ill or at-risk for COVID.
Unfortunately, this is all very confusing – by design. When tasked with making it easier for Missourians to vote during the 2020 election, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and the Republican-controlled legislature have made it all the more confusing. Because of Ashcroft’s push to make it more difficult to vote by mail and the White House’s weakening of the U.S. Postal Service, I recommend absentee voting as the preferred method. For those who do not meet the criteria for absentee voting, voting safely in person is the next best bet.
The American: An elderly Black voter with asthma in St. Louis County tells you she is afraid to vote in person yet worried if she mails in her vote it won’t be counted. She asks you how she should cast her vote. What do you tell her?
Yinka Faleti: She should vote using an absentee ballot. Under the new law, she would qualify to vote under excuse no. 2 or no. 7. She can vote absentee by requesting her ballot by email, by mail, by fax or in-person.
The American: What should the Missouri secretary of state be saying or doing now that Ashcroft is not saying or doing to make sure that all eligible voters vote and that all votes count?
Yinka Faleti: Again, it is important to realize that most Missouri voters will qualify to vote absentee under the new law, per my prior response. Missouri voters who choose to vote by mail should mail their ballots in 7-10 days early to ensure it is received by the local election authority by 7 p.m. on November 3. An even earlier mailing is preferable.
The American: Any other advice for anxious or confused Missouri voters?
Yinka Faleti: Every vote matters, now more than ever. Voting in Missouri is cumbersome, confusing and complicated because Jay Ashcroft wants it that way. He saw COVID-19 as an opportunity to suppress votes, and he took advantage of it. We need every eligible Missourian to vote in this election, so we can replace Jay Ashcroft and his voter suppression tactics with a Missouri where voting is easy, safe and secure and all voices can be heard.
Voters may vote absentee in person at their local election authority. In the City of St. Louis, vote absentee at 300 N. Tucker Blvd. from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as on Saturday, October 24, and Saturday, October 31, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. In St. Louis County, vote absentee at 725 Northwest Plaza Dr. in St. Ann from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Request an absentee ballot by mail in the City of St. Louis at https://tinyurl.com/CSTL-absentee. Request an absentee ballot by mail in St. Louis County at https://tinyurl.com/STLC-absentee.
Call the St. Louis election board at (314) 622-4336 or for absentee voting. (314) 622-3230. Call the St. Louis County election board at 314-615-1800,