Absentee Voting

The Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis conducts all elections under state and/or charter jurisdiction. The conduct of elections for absentee voting in a city (municipal election) is no different from absentee voting in a state election. Applications are mailed only to voters who are on the permanently disabled list. However, a registered voter does not need a formal application to apply for an absentee ballot. This may be done in writing with the name, address, mailing address and signature of the voter.

The Board of Elections provides an online Application For Absentee Ballot. Your must sepecify whether you are applying for an Absentee Ballot for the General Election or an Absentee Ballot for a Primary Election. Applications are in Adobe Acrobat PDF file format. (Information about and how to download PDF files). An absentee by-mail application is valid for one election only.

Absentee in-person voting begins in Missouri six weeks before each election. Absentee in-person voting in the City of St. Louis is currently conducted only at the office of the Board.

To remain registered in Missouri, you must be a Missouri resident with the intent to return to Missouri whenever you leave. Your voter registration record must show your Missouri residence address. If you are temporarily outside Missouri, you may maintain your Missouri residence address as it appears on your current registration record, and provide us with your new out-of-state mailing address to keep our records current.

To vote, see the absentee information in the previous question.

Destroy the by-mail ballot or return it to the absentee department in person. Do not mail it back to the Election Board. Ballot envelopes that are received in the Board are recorded on the voter’s record. If you mail your ballot and then vote at the polling place, it will be recorded that you have voted more than once, which is a felony.

No. Since we don’t know your intentions as to where you will be on election day, we can’t assume that you will want an absentee by-mail ballot. Each voter must apply for ballots on an election by election basis except certain military personnel.