During the two weeks prior to the election, you may vote no-excuse absentee ballot in person at a location designated by your local election authority. When voting an absentee ballot in person, you must show a valid ID. In person absentee voters are not eligible for a provisional ballot.
Absentee voters must provide one of the following reasons for voting absentee:
- Absence on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote;
- Incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability on election day, including a person who is primarily responsible for the physical care of a person who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability and resides at the same address;
- Employment as an election authority or by an election authority at a location at a location other than such voter’s polling place, a first responder, a health care worker, or a member of law enforcement.
- Incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained.
- Certified participation in the address confidentiality program established under section 589.660 to 589.681 because of safety concerns.
- Voters can request absentee ballots from their local election authority in person, by mail, by fax or by email.
- Relatives within the second degree (spouse, parents and children) may complete an absentee ballot application, in person, on behalf of the voter who wishes to vote absentee.
- Do NOT send absentee ballot applications to the Secretary of State’s office. Absentee ballots applications must be sent to the appropriate local election authority by the deadline in order to be valid.
Contact information for local election authorities may be found here.
Mail-in or faxed absentee ballot requests must be received by the election authority no later than the 5:00 pm on the second Wednesday before any election. Voters can vote by absentee in the office of the local election authority until 5:00 p.m. the night before the election. Voters requesting an absentee ballot by mail who have registered by mail and have not voted in person are required to submit a copy of their valid ID unless they provided a copy with their registration application.
The ID requirement, as well as the notary requirement for absentee ballots, does not apply to those who are approved for the Permanent Absentee Voting, as noted above under the Accessible Voting section.
