No excuse absentee voting begins Tuesday, photo ID required Nov. 8

This story is updated.

Those who wish to vote absentee in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election may do so without an excuse starting Tuesday, Oct. 25, said Kara Clark Summers, Cape Girardeau county clerk.

Absentee voting by those providing an excuse has been available since Tuesday, Sept. 27.

The final day to request an absentee ballot be mailed to a voter via U.S. Postal Service is Wednesday, Oct. 26.

What's new

The no-excuse absentee option was made possible by this year's passage of House Bill 1878.

The legislation, introduced by Franklin County Republican Rep. John Simmons, was approved in the state Senate on Monday, May 9, by a 23-11 vote; by the state House on Thursday, May 12, by a 97-47 vote; and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday, June 29.

All local lawmakers voted "yes" on the bill except for District 148 House Rep. Jamie Burger of Benton, who was absent with leave from the General Assembly session.

The last legal challenge to implementing the provisions of House Bill 1878 was struck down Wednesday, Oct. 12, by a Cole County judge.

Summers said now that the court has tossed the effort to block implementation of the bill, her office will soon be contacting voters.

"We're getting ready to put a mailer out in everybody's mailbox reminding people of Election Day, about the (new) requirements for photo ID and explaining a sample ballot may be viewed at capecountyvotes.com," said Summers, who has been county clerk since 2007. "We held off putting the photo ID information out there until there was a disposition of the lawsuit."

Photo ID

Also included in HB 1878, Summers said there are now four main forms of acceptable photo ID at the polls for the upcoming general election.

• nonexpired Missouri driver's license
• nonexpired Missouri nondriver ID
• valid U.S. passport
• valid U.S. military ID

If a voter Tuesday, Nov. 8, does not have one of the acceptable forms of photo ID, that person could vote a provisional ballot.

"We will not turn anyone away from voting," Summers said.

"If a citizen votes a provisional ballot, there are two ways that vote would count: one, if an acceptable photo ID was produced before the polls close at 7 p.m. Election Day; or two, if the signature on the provisional ballot envelope matches the signature on file in our voter rolls."

In the latter case, Summers said, the county verification board, made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, will examine the signature on the ballot Monday, Nov. 14, and could certify the ballot as valid that day.

The Tuesday, Nov. 8, vote is considered unofficial until the verification board certifies it Monday, Nov. 14.

Summers expects the new photo ID requirement will be an adjustment for some voters.

"Considering our university student population in the county, I think there will be a substantial amount of people who won't have the proper photo ID when they come to vote," she said.

University IDs are no longer acceptable forms of identification, Summers explained, because they have no expiration date.

Forecast

"I think we'll have a good turnout (Tuesday, Nov. 8), perhaps north of 60% because the midterms and the constitutional amendments — including the one on marijuana (Amendment No. 3), will drive voters out," Summers predicted.

"Our absentee ballot requests have been a lot slower than we saw in the 2018 midterms and we're seeing this across the state," she added.

Summers is the current statewide president of the Missouri Association of Clerks and Election Authorities.

More than 40 new election judges, she said, have been trained and will be at polling places across Cape Girardeau County for the general election.

In all, in excess of 275 judges will be working the polls on Election Day next month, Summers advised.