Missouri’s federal election on Nov. 8 will look different than the primary elections from August — but not as different as some worry.
Gov. Mike Parson signed HB 1878 into law earlier this summer. Among other things, the new law requires valid photo ID, allows address changes as late as election day and discontinues mail-in ballots. Absentee and provisional ballots are allowed. Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall explained what these alterations will look like in this month’s election.
__Changes of address__
“The first thing that changes with that house bill, is you can change your address even on election day, (if) moving from one Missouri county to another,” Deffendall said. Addresses must be changed at the courthouse, but voters can proceed right away to their correct precinct for voting.
Those moving in from out of state should cast a provisional ballot, which is held back and only counted as a vote when one of two criteria is met: either the voter returns to their polling place on election day with a valid photo ID, or a verification team determines the signature on the provisional ballot matches the signature in the voter registry.
“The address on their driver’s license does not have to match where they say they’re registered to vote. This is just verifying they are who they say they are,” Deffendall said.
__No-excuse voting__
Instead of absentee ballots, the state began no-excuse voting Oct. 25. It is called no-excuse voting because the voter does not need to provide a reason for voting early.
__Photo ID__
For no-excuse and in-person voting, voters must show a photo ID. This can be a valid driver’s license, a recently expired driver’s license, military ID, or a Missouri nondriver license acquired. Expired licenses are suitable “if it has expired since the last federal election,” Defendall explained — in this case, after Nov. 3, 2020. Missouri nondriver licenses can be acquired for free through the license bureau.
REAL ID is not required to vote. REAL ID is a driver’s license meeting security standards laid out in the REAL ID Act of 2005, according to the Missouri Department of Revenue website. Starting in May 2023 REAL ID will be required for citizens boarding domestic flights, but it is not required to vote.
“A driver’s license is a driver’s license. It does not have to be the Real ID in order to vote,” said Deffendall.
She also believes the ripples of the new ID requirements will be minimal. Voters everyone already understand photo ID and almost everyone presented their driver’s license to vote before it was required.
“I don’t believe in Butler County this is going to be an issue at all,” she said.
__Fair Ballot Language__
Fair ballot language remains the same; this is a written outline placed in voting booths to explain what proposed amendments entail, and what a “yes” and “no” vote means for each. Deffendall urged voters to familiarize themselves with this election’s fair ballot language before they hit the voting booth.
“If they will read this over and know how they want to vote before they get the precinct, that will split speed up the lines tremendously,” she said.
The proposed amendments were published several times in the DAR, most recently on Oct. 27, and can be accessed on the E-Edition. Full sample ballots were published Oct. 25.
Misinformation about voting is common on social media, Deffendall said, but she believes explaining changes ahead of time will ease confusion and make things easier for everyone on election day.
“I hope this will help the public be patient with us, because this is new for voters and our election workers,” she said. Election workers will drill the new requirements in seminars and have materials on hand in every precinct, she added.
__Other measures__
According to the official website of Gov. Parson, governor.mo.gov., HB 1878 also:
•Clarifies when voter rolls can be audited by the Secretary of State.
•Prohibits the use of ballot drop boxes for no-excuse absentee ballots.
•Makes the paper ballot the official ballot and prohibits the use of electronic vote counting machines after January 1, 2024.
•Prevents local election authorities from accepting private donations, with limited exceptions.
•Requires all electronic voting machines to be “air gapped,” or not directly connected to the internet.
Other provisions related to elections were referenced but not defined.