Can you track your mail-in ballot online in Missouri? It depends where you live
Early voting for the 2024 general election kicked off Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Missouri, and current tallies show that Missouri voters have headed to the polls in significant numbers.
In the Kansas City area, a little more than 63,000 residents have voted as of Monday, Oct. 28. The early tally doesn’t account for mail-in ballots, which election officials say will be counted closer to Election Day, Nov. 5.
If you have submitted a mail-in ballot, you can check the status of your ballot. But it will depend on where you voted in Missouri.
Here’s what to know about tracking your ballot.
How can I track my ballot in Missouri?
Missouri is one of four states in the country with no statewide mechanism to show voters the status of their mail-in ballot. All ballot tracking is done at the local level, Maura Browning, a former spokesperson for the Missouri secretary of state’s office, said in 2020.
Ballot tracking is still taken care of at the local levels for the 2024 election. Boone County and the city of St. Louis implemented ballot-tracking systems in 2020, and the Kansas City Election Board now has the option to track mail-in ballots online by entering your ballot track identification code.
Kansas City Election Director Lauri Ealom said in 2020 her office couldn’t afford a mail ballot tracking feature when expanded mail-in voting in Missouri was is only a temporary measure. You have to meet certain criteria to vote by mail in Missouri, like if you’re out of town on Election Day, have an illness or disability or caring for someone with an illness or disability or a first responder.
But a majority of Missouri voters, like voters in Clay, Jackson and Platte counties, are still without such a resource. Voters can try calling their election office to see if their ballot was received.
Why? The secretary of state’s office has a simple answer: Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft lacks the authority to implement such a system.
“The Secretary of State’s office can provide guidance but is not in a position to mandate policies that are not set forth in state statute,” Browning said in 2020.
