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Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies, procedures, and enforcement. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee/mail-in voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Missouri:
In Missouri, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[2]
To vote in Missouri, one must be 18 years old, a United States citizen, and Missouri resident.[3] An applicant may print an application, pick one up from a county clerk's office, or request that an application be mailed. The completed application must be returned by mail. All returned applications must be postmarked at least 27 days prior to Election Day in order to be processed. An applicant may also register to vote online.[3]
Missouri does not practice automatic voter registration.[4]
Missouri has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.[4]
Missouri does not allow same-day voter registration.[4]
To register to vote in Missouri, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify the length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Voters may file change-of-address forms after the registration deadline, up to and including Election Day, provided that they can present photo identification upon doing so.[5][6]
Missouri requires those registering to vote by mail for the first time to provide a form of identification that shows proof of United States citizenship.[3]
The Missouri Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Missouri permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
A voter is eligible to vote absentee in an election if he or she cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:[7]
To vote absentee, an application must be received by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the election. If returned in person, the ballot must be submitted by 5 p.m. the day before the election. If submitted by mail, the ballot must be received by the close of polls on Election Day.[7]
In Missouri, a voter or a voter's relative within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity can return their absentee/mail-in ballot by mail or in person.[8] Absentee/mail-in ballots must be received by the voter’s local election authority by the close of polls on Election Day in order to be counted.[9]
Missouri does not have a cure provision, or a law providing for a process where election officials follow up with voters whose absentee/mail-in ballots contain a signature discrepancy or lack the requisite signatures. The envelope of an absentee/mail-in ballot must be signed by "an election official, notary, or other officer authorized to administer oaths," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Members of the military and their family members, overseas voters, and voters who are permanently disabled and their caregivers are exempt from the notary requirement.[10][11]
Missouri requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[11][12]
The following were accepted forms of identification as of April 2023. Click here for the Missouri Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
Voters can present the following forms of information:
If a voter does not have an ID, he or she can obtain one for free by filling out this form.
Click here to learn more about the background of Missouri's law.
As of April 2024, 35 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 24 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 11 accepted other forms of identification. The remaining 16 states did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Valid forms of identification differ by state. In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.
Voters who do not have ID while voting may cast provisional ballots. See below for provisional ballot rules.
Voters in Missouri are given provisional ballots, or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances:[13][14][15]
According to Missouri’s election rules, the following procedure is used to determine the validity of provisional ballots:
“ | The election authority shall examine its records and verify that the provisional voter is duly registered and qualified to vote in the election. If the provisional voter has provided information regarding the registration agency where the provisional voter registered to vote, the election authority shall make an inquiry of the registration agency to determine whether the provisional voter is duly registered and qualified to vote in the election.[15][16] | ” |
A provisional ballot is rejected in the following circumstances:[17]
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Missouri utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[18][19][20]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
In Missouri, employers must allow employees three consecutive hours paid leave to vote on election days unless employees have three consecutive hours of non-work time to vote. Payment is conditional upon voting, and interference by employers is a punishable offense:
“ | 1. Any person entitled to vote at any election held within this state shall, on the day of such election, be entitled to absent himself from any services or employment in which he is then engaged or employed, for a period of three hours between the time of opening and the time of closing the polls for the purpose of voting, and any such absence for such purpose shall not be reason for the discharge of or the threat to discharge any such person from such services or employment; and such employee, if he votes, shall not, because of so absenting himself, be liable to any penalty or discipline, nor shall any deduction be made on account of such absence from his usual salary or wages; provided, however, that request shall be made for such leave of absence prior to the day of election, and provided further, that this section shall not apply to a voter on the day of election if there are three successive hours while the polls are open in which he is not in the service of his employer. The employer may specify any three hours between the time of opening and the time of closing the polls during which such employee may absent himself.
2. Any employer violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a class four election offense.[21][16] |
” |
As of 2020, 28 states had laws requiring employers to provide time off for voting under certain conditions.
In Missouri, people convicted of a felony receive automatic restoration of their voting rights upon completion of their sentence, including probation or parole, unless the felony–or misdemeanor–pertains to election-related offenses. People who have committed an election-related felony or misdemeanor are not allowed to vote.[22]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[4]
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[23] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[24]
Missouri law authorizes election officials to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if an individual:[25]
On June 29, 2022, Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed HB1878 into law, authorizing the secretary of state to conduct quarterly audits of the state's voter registration list and directing election officials to remove the names of ineligible voters from the list.[5]
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records and other sources, to provide member states with reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Members fund ERIC. New members pay a one-time membership fee of $25,000, which is reserved for technology upgrades and other unanticipated expenses. Members also pay annual dues. Annual dues cover operating costs and are based, in part, on the citizen voting age population in each state."[26]
By 2022, 33 states and the District of Columbia had joined ERIC. As of May 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia were members in the ERIC program.[27]
As of August 2023, Missouri was not participating in the ERIC program.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) withdrew Missouri from ERIC on March 6, 2023, citing its refusal to "require member states to participate in addressing multi-state voter fraud."[28] According to ERIC, the effective date for this withdrawal was June 3, 2023.[29]:
Missouri state law requires post-election audits. The audit is conducted by local election officials. Five percent of precincts are randomly selected to be audited. "If results differ by more than 0.5%, discrepancies are investigated and resolved." The audit must be completed before certification of the election results.[30]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[31][32]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
As of July 2024, 41 states and the District of Columbia required some form of post-election audit. Of these, 36 states and the District of Columbia required traditional post-election audits, three states required risk-limiting post-election audits, and two states required procedural post-election audits.[33]
On June 29, 2022, Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed HB1878 into law. This bill made a number of modifications to the state's election laws, including, but not limited to, the following:[5]
The state Senate approved the final version of the bill on May 9 by a vote of 23-11, with 23 Republicans voting in favor of the bill and 10 Democrats and one Republican voting against the bill. The state House followed suit on May 12 by a vote of 97-46, with 96 Republicans and one Democrat voting in favor and 46 Democrats voting against the bill.[5]
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Missouri.
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Missouri. The following information is included for each bill:
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.
Click here to view recent issues and subscribe.
In order to get on the ballot in Missouri, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Missouri. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Missouri's eight United States Representatives and 197 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[34][35][36][37]
Missouri was apportioned eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Missouri after the 2020 census.
In Missouri, congressional district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[38]
In 2018, the voters passed a citizens’ initiative called Amendment 1 that reshaped the redistricting process; in 2020, the voters narrowly passed a legislatively referred initiative called Amendment 3 that reshaped the process again.
Two distinct politician commissions are ultimately responsible for state legislative redistricting, one for the Missouri State Senate and another for the Missouri House of Representatives. Membership on these commissions is determined as follows:[38]
“ |
Missouri’s congressional districts are drawn by the state legislature, as a regular statute, subject to gubernatorial veto. The state legislative lines are drawn by two separate politician commissions — one for state Senate districts, one for state House districts. For each commission, each major party’s congressional district committee nominates 2 members per congressional district, and the state committee nominates 5 members; the Governor chooses 1 per district per party and two per party from the statewide lists, for a total commission of 20.[16] |
” |
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Missouri can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Missouri Election Authority
Secretary of State, Elections Division
Missouri Ethics Commission
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
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