The Voting Process
Your Voting Questions, Answered
Do You Have Questions about the Voting Process?
Your County Clerk’s office is a great place to start.
Be Sure You are Registered to Vote
Registration takes less than five minutes on the Missouri Secretary of State website. The online form is simple and quick.
Prefer to register in person? Visit your County Clerk’s office (usually located in the county courthouse) or call ahead for information. You may also visit your public library in Greene, Christian and Webster counties and ask at the main desk.
Your voter identification card will be mailed to you a few weeks after you have registered. If you do not receive your voter ID card in a few weeks, call your County Clerk.
Your Voting Location
Your voter identification card will have the name and address of the voting location (also called a “polling place”) where you will go to vote.
What Hours Are Voting Locations Open?
The polls (voting locations) are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. across the state of Missouri.
Early Voting? Or Unable to Vote on Election Day?
Recent changes have made voting a bit easier. During the two weeks prior to the election, you may vote a no-excuse absentee ballot in person at the office of your County Clerk. When voting an absentee ballot in person, you must show an acceptable form of photo ID.
You may vote absentee by mail before Election Day if you will be out of town or unable to vote on Election Day. Certain deadlines apply. To request an absentee ballot, contact your County Clerk’s office. Find complete information on absentee voting at Missouri Secretary of State.
Learn About the Candidates and Ballot Issues
Before you go vote, learn about the candidates and the issues on the ballot. Go to the League’s nonpartisan website VOTE411.org and enter your address. Here you’ll see a sample ballot specific to your voting location. You can print it out and take it with you to your voting location. You can find out where candidates stand on the issues.
Or pick up the League’s free nonpartisan printed Voter’s Guide at all area libraries. VOTE411.org and the Voter’s Guide are produced by the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri. The League never supports or opposes candidates or political parties.
Hear candidates share their ideas and goals in radio and video interviews hosted by the Informed Voter Coalition. Led by the League, this coalition invites local candidates to participate in these brief conversations. A few weeks before Election Day, interviews are aired on KSMU Public Radio and video versions are posted to the websites of coalition partners.
Take Your Identification with You to Vote
Find out acceptable forms of voter identification HERE.
Are you registered to vote, but don’t have a valid photo ID? Scroll down this page of the Missouri Secretary of State’s website to find out how to vote a provisional ballot.
When You Arrive at Your Voting Location
Go to the table of election workers and show them your I.D. They will give you a ballot and answer any questions you might have. Find an empty seat or voting booth to fill out the ballot. Take as much time as you want. When you finish, an election worker will show you how to put your ballot into the counting machine. Remember—it is not necessary to vote for every office or every proposed issue on the ballot. You may leave blank the ones you don’t want to vote for. Your ballot will still count.
Missouri Secretary of State
For more information about voting in Missouri, please visit the website of our state’s chief election official: Office of the Missouri Secretary of State