Registered voters in Missouri will be able to vote absentee, by mail or in person with social distancing modifications in both the Aug 4 and Nov. 3 elections.
Voting options expanded in Missouri for the 2020 elections after Gov. Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 631, which allows voters to submit absentee ballots if they have COVID-19 or are at risk for contracting the virus. The bill also allows voters to request mail-in ballots.
The deadline to register to vote in Missouri’s August primary is 5 p.m. Wednesday. Boone County residents can register on the county clerk’s website.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft outlined the rules for the revised voting methods during a news conference Tuesday.
Absentee ballots are available for registered voters who are unable to come to the polls in person on election day.
All absentee ballots must be notarized unless the voter is incapacitated or confined because of illness, has contracted the coronavirus or is at risk.
Those at risk are defined as people:
- 65 or older.
- Living in long-term care facilities.
- With chronic lung disease or asthma.
- With serious heart conditions.
- Who are immunocompromised.
- With diabetes.
- With chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis.
- With liver disease.
Absentee ballots can be requested at the county clerk’s office until the day before an election. Ballots can be turned in either by mail or in person.
Along with provisions related to COVID-19, SB 631 allows mail-in ballots for the first time for any registered voter in Missouri. However, all mail-in ballots will have to be notarized.