Registering and Voting

You can register to vote in Missouri by completing a Missouri Voter Registration Application and presenting it in person to the Election Board (300 N. Tucker), a deputy registrar in your community, voter registration agency (DMV, Health and Social Services, Community and Regional Affairs, recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United States). You may also simply mail it to the elections office in your jurisdiction.

Your can change your registration record on the same form that is used for an original registration or you may complete the back of your voter ID card and mail it to the Election Board. A registered voter may also change his address by mailing written notification to the election office, the notice should include the voter's name, registered address, date of birth and signature.

The fourth(4th) Wednesday prior to an election.

If you are in Missouri, you can register to vote as soon as you arrive as long as you intend to remain here and have the intent to return when you leave. However, you cannot vote for state or local candidates or issues unless you registered on or before the fourth (4th) Wednesday prior to the election.

If you are registering by mail, you must provide proof of idendtity the first time you vote. If you qualify to vote by absentee, you must show this proof to a notary public at the time your ballot is notarized?

A person may vote at any election who:

is a citizen of the United States, is 18 years of age or older, has been a resident of the state and of the election district in which the person seeks to vote for at least 28 days prior to the election, has registered before the election registration deadline, and is not registered to vote in another jurisdiction.

You ARE a resident for voting purposes if you are in Missouri with the intent to remain here and have the intent to return when you leave and are not registered to vote in another state or are willing to cancel that registration. This DOES NOT mean that you meet residency requirements for other state agencies and programs. Other agencies or organizations may have different criteria to define Missouri residency.

The answer to both questions is, no. A Missouri resident’s spouse or child must establish residency in Missouri on their own. If a person has never lived in Missouri, residency cannot be claimed.

No. A convicted felon may not register to vote unless unconditionally discharged from custody. When you are no longer on probation and have received a copy of your discharge papers you will be allowed to register.

You can register six months before you turn 18, but you must be eighteen on or before election day in order to vote.

This is a unique seven digit number assigned only to you and can be found on your voter ID card.

Contact the election office in your area and they can research your voter record.

No. Each person must sign or make a mark on an application when registering to vote or voting. No one can do this for someone else.

Portions of your voter record are confidential: social security number, phone numbers.

No. Missouri residents do not register by party and therefore it is not public information and is not printed on any voter lists. However, to vote in a party primary election Missouri registrants must state a party preference prior to receiving a ballot.

A person who designates his party affiliation as "non-partisan" doesn’t have preferences for one party or another and consequently in a primary election will be given an issues only ballot to vote. This means that no matter what punches are placed in the ballot card only those punches related to ballot issues and measures will be counted.

Voter ID cards must be mailed by statute every two years. However, depending on the volume of cards to be mailed Voter cards may be mailed out as often as once a month, generally around the end of the month. Those voters who registered by mail application will not be mailed a voter ID until they have voted one time and presented identification.

Polling places are set up for each voting precinct. Your ward and precinct appear on your voter ID card.

Missouri law now requires that, before receiving a ballot, voters must identify themselves by presenting a form of personal identification from the following list:

• A voter ID card
• Identification issued by the State of Missouri or any agency of the state.
• Identification issued by any agency of the United States Government.
• Identification issued by an institution of higher learning located within Missouri (university, college, trade or technical school).
• A current utility bill, bank statement, government check or other government document containing the name and address of the voter.
• Driver's license or state identification card issued by any state.
• Personal knowledge of the voter by both election supervisors upon completion of a voter affidavit that is signed by both supervisors and the voter.

The Election Board has a TTY communication device for the hearing impaired (622-4261) and magnifying ballot viewers at the polling places. Audio recordings of the General Elections Official Election Pamphlet for the visually impaired may be obtained from the Missouri Society for the Blind by calling 846-8305. Curbside voting is available at each polling place for those voters who cannot benefit from the handicapped accessible entry way.

You may bring someone to help you at the polls. The person you bring may go into the booth with you and assist you with voting after completing the proper consolidated voters affidavit. This assistance may include election officials (one from each major political party), friends, family members, bystanders, campaign workers and anyone else who is not your employer, an agent of your employer, or officer or agent of your union.

You can apply up to seven days before an election for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you. However, if you had planned on going to your polling place on election day but become ill, hospitalized, or are homebound within that seven day period, you can vote by having an Election Board representative bring you a ballot up to and including the day before the election.