MISSOURI

Election Information

Upcoming Elections

2008 State Primary Election: 8/5/08

2008 General Election: 11/4/08

Voter Registration Information

The Lawyers’ Committee and its pro bono law firm partners have compiled comprehensive third-party voter registration guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  These guides will help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state. 

Registration Deadlines

28 days before an election

Specific Deadlines:

  • 2008 State Primary Election: 7/9/08
  • 2008 General Election: 10/8/08

Where to Obtain Registration Forms

Absentee Voting

Absentee voting is allowed if the voter is:

  • Going to be out of his or her voting jurisdiction on Election Day
  • Ill, or has a disability preventing a trip to the polling place
  • Primarily responsible for the physical care of a person who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability
  • Unable to make it to the polling place due to religious reasons
  • An appointed election officer or poll worker at a polling place other than his or her regular polling place
  • Incarcerated, but meets all the requirements for voting
  • A member of the Armed Forces or a spouse or dependent of a member of the Armed forces
  • A U.S. citizen living overseas who will be at least 18 years of age before the next general election and whose last residence prior to going overseas was in MO

Rules and Deadlines

  • Absentee ballots can be found with the election authority and must be requested by 5 pm on the Wednesday before an election.
  • Ballots must be returned to the election authority.
  • A photo ID is not required unless the voter registered by mail and has not yet voted in person.
    • In this case, the voter must provide a copy of a photo ID.
    • Military and overseas voters are exempt from this requirement.
  • Ballot must be received by 7 pm on Election Day.

Early Voting

Yes, for all registered voters beginning 14 days before an election and ending at 5 pm the Wednesday before the election.

Identification Requirements

At registration:

  • Current and valid photo identification or
  • A current utility bill,
  • Bank statement,
  • Government check,
  • Paycheck
  • Other government document that shows the name and address of the elector

At polls:

  • Identification issued by the state of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state
  • Identification issued by the United States government or agency thereof
  • Identification issued by an institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school, located within the state of Missouri
  • A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter
  • Driver’s license or state identification card issued by another state

How to check registration

Contact your county clerk or local election official

How to locate polling place

Check online

Information for felons

Voter is eligible to register upon completion of the sentence, including probation or parole.


For more information, go to the Secretary of State’s website.
Read frequently asked questions about Ensuring a Valid Voter Registration in Missouri.

In The Courts

NAACP v. Carnahan

Weinscheck v. Missouri

Legislation

Missouri S.B. 1014

Recent News

September 29, 2006: The Lawyers’ Committee and other organizations filed an Amicus brief in Weinscheck v. Missouri, the state voter ID case, in support of the Circuit Court’s decision to enjoin Missouri’s law requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls.

Read the Amicus brief here.

September 15, 2006: Advocates filed a motion in federal court today, seeking a preliminary injunction in NAACP v. Carnahan.

Read the Motion for Preliminary Injunction here.

September 14, 2006: Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan said it best in his order striking down Missouri’s photo ID requirement: "While a license to drive may be just that: a license and not a right. The right to vote is also just that: a right and not a license."

In a victory for voters and voting rights advocates, Missouri’s discriminatory photo ID requirement was deemed unconstitutional. A federal lawsuit, filed by the Lawyers’ Committee and other partners, is still pending.

Read the order here.

Kansas City Star, Judge strikes down Missouri voter ID law

September 6, 2006: The Lawyers’ Committee, the ACLU, and People For the American Way filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging Missouri’s new law requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls.  Missouri is one of several states to recently impose disenfranchising photo ID requirements for voting. Similar lawsuits are also underway in Georgia and Missouri.  The suits claim that the laws violate the Constitution and federal voting laws. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the NAACP, Grass Roots Organizing, the Missouri Citizen Education Fund, The Whole Person, Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independence, and Southwest Center for Independent Living, and individual plaintiffs, including Ms. Frencher, who will find themselves disenfranchised by the voter ID law.

One of the plaintiffs, Maria Frencher of Kansas City, does not have a photo ID, and also lacks the information required in order to procure an ID. Despite having been a registered voter for 13 years, and regularly casting legal ballots in Missouri, Maria will be denied the right to vote a standard ballot in the upcoming election if the Missouri statute stands. Maria is just one of an estimated 240,000 registered Missouri voters who lack the proper photo identification now required to vote, according to calculations recently released by Missouri’s Secretary of State. Many of these individuals would face difficult and - in cases like Maria’s - insurmountable obstacles in requiring the ID needed to vote.

Read the complaint here.

KOMU: NBC 8, Columbia, Voter ID Law Challenged in Federal Court

Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri judge hears voter ID case; federal suit filed

St. Louis Times, Judge weighs challenges to voter ID law

August 21, 2006: Missouri’s new photo ID law has come under scrutiny from public officials and the media. Secretary of State Robin Carhanan determined that 240,000 Missourians may lack the proper ID to vote. Even Congressman Ike Skelton has had trouble obtaining an ID. And Missouri’s new ID law is discussed in the context of similar laws across the country.

Kansas City Star, Carnahan Finds 240,000 voters may lack state ID

Kansas City Star, Court should waste no time killing voter ID law

Belleville News Democrat, Missouri voter ID law latest in national test cases

August 10, 2006: An editorial in The New York Times outlines problems with Missouri’s new photo ID law requiring voters to present government-issued identification at the polls.

The New York Times, Voter Suppression in Missouri

August 8, 2006: Election Protection will run a limited program for the Missuori primary today. Voters should call 866-OUR-VOTE with any questions about voting. Missouri recently passed a new law that will require voters to show photo identification at the polls beginning with the November 7, 2006 election. However, this law is NOT in effect for the upcoming primary election on August 8, 2006.

Read the Missouri Voter’s Bill of Rights here.