About 45% of the votes cast in the August 4 primary election will be done by absentee ballots, said St. Louis city and county election officials.
Typically, in St. Louis County elections, that number is only about 10%.
“It’s a big shift,” said Eric Fey, Democratic director of Elections for the St. Louis County Election Board. “There are a lot of people who have never done this before, and naturally they’ve got questions.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic, absentee voting has gotten more complicated. The most pressing thing to know is the upcoming ballot request deadline.
If you are trying to stay out of polling places completely, then your window to request an absentee ballot is closing soon. The absentee ballot request forms, which can be found and printed from the city and county election websites, must be in the hands of local election authorities by Wednesday, July 22 at 5 p.m. — not postmarked by this time, but in the election authorities’ possession by this time.
The confusing part is whether or not your ballot envelope needs to be notarized. Notarization means going somewhere and having someone watch you sign the envelope that you will use to mail back the ballot. That’s a problem for anyone trying to avoid exposure to the virus.
Thankfully, notarization is not required for people who are at high risk for the virus (including those over 65 or those who are immune-compromised) — nor for the parents or caregivers of this population. Parents, if your child has asthma or other risk factors, then you can request a ballot under Option 2 (which describes caregivers), Fey said. For those who are at risk themselves, check Option 7 on the ballot request form.
People who vote absentee for all other reasons — absence on election day, religious belief, employment as an election authority, incarceration, or participation in the address confidentiality program — require a notary.
New mail-in ballots
The other way to keep out of a polling place is the new mail-in ballot, which Missouri legislators saw as a solution to voting during the pandemic. Anyone can choose this option, but it requires a notary. And this ballot has to be mailed. Unlike an absentee ballot, it can’t be dropped off at an election authority if you happen to get close to the election and forget to send it. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is July 22 at 5 p.m.
According to the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis, another hiccup in the legislation created the mail-in ballot option is that it allows for notaries to charge for services, which state law prohibits for regular absentee ballots.
“Not only are the new absentee and mail-in ballot rules confusing, allowing notaries to charge voters to notarize a mail-in ballot is a poll tax,” said Louise Wilkerson, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis. “The League is fighting to make sure voters can cast their ballots in 2020 elections safely and at no cost and know that their votes will count.”
The League encourages voters to mail these ballots by Monday, July 20 to arrive by 7 p.m. on election day.
In the recent June election in St. Louis County (the rescheduled April municipal election), almost 73,000 absentee ballots were requested, with 65% returned and 6% rejected, according to the League. Almost one-third of the rejected ballots weren’t notarized. Another 1,249 ballots weren’t counted since they came in after 7 p.m. on June 2.
The League is offering free notary services in its office at 8706 Manchester Rd. in Brentwood from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10 to 12 p.m. the next two Saturdays, July 18 and 25. The League is part of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition that is creating a statewide notary hub.
Walk-in absentee voting is underway
If you don’t mind going into a building with masked poll workers but would like to skip the potential lines, then you can vote absentee Monday through Friday at the election headquarters in both the city (300 N. Tucker Blvd.) and county (725 Northwest Plaza Dr.) until the day before the election. You can fill out the absentee request form and vote all in one visit. This process began on June 23.
“It’s really no different than going to a polling location on election day,” Fey said. “The procedure is pretty much the same.”
Both the city and county have not had any lines, officials said. And on July 23, the county will open up four more satellite locations for walk-in absentee voting or to drop off ballots received by mail. Locations and hours for these locations can be found at www.stlouisco.com/elections. Voters should bring a driver’s license, a voter ID card or utility bill, officials said.
Absentee ballot request forms for the city are at https://tinyurl.com/absentee-city. Absentee ballot request forms for the county are at https://tinyurl.com/absentee-county. Request forms for both absentee ballots and mail-in ballots can also be found on the Secretary of State’s website (www.sos.mo.gov). City voters must mail them to the Board of Election Commissioners, 300 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101. County voters must mail their request forms to St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, 725 Northwest Plaza, St. Ann, MO 63074.
For more information on absentee voting in the city, call 314-622-3230. For the county, call 314-615-1800.
