ST. LOUIS – St. Louis County’s April General Municipal Election is only six weeks away and now there have been changes to voting options compared to the August and November elections.
The Missouri General Assembly passed a law in 2020 that allowed voters to use the excuse that they are vulnerable to COVID-19 in order to vote absentee. The law also allowed voters to vote using a mail-in ballot without an excuse. Both of these provisions expired at the end of 2020 and the General Assembly has not taken any steps to extend them. The St. Louis County Election Board said until the General Assembly passes another law, the pre-COVID-19 voting laws will be enforced.
Residents of St. Louis County who wish to vote with an absentee ballot will have to meet one of
the six reasons for voting absentee:
- Absent from St. Louis County on Election Day;
- Incapacitated or confined due to sickness or disability, including caring for a person who is
incapacitated or confined due to sickness or disability; - Restricted by religious belief or practice;
- Employed by an election authority;
- Incarcerated, although all necessary qualifications for voting have been retained;
- A participant in the Missouri Safe at Home program
Unless a voter meets one of the above reasons, they will have to vote in-person at a polling place on Election Day.
The absentee ballot application must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24. Click here for the absentee ballot application.
