Notary required on absentee ballots in Missouri. Can voters be charged a fee?
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- Missouri absentee voting began June 23 for the Aug. 4 elections.
- Most Missouri mail ballots must be notarized before they can be counted.
- Completed absentee ballots must arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day to count.
Absentee voting began in Missouri on June 23, and Kansas Citians have already begun casting ballots for the Aug. 4 elections.
Election officials say the biggest pitfalls for Missouri mail voters remain the same: failing to have a ballot notarized when required and waiting too long to return it.
Under Missouri law, most mail ballots must be notarized before they can be counted, though voters casting absentee ballots for certain reasons, including incapacity, are exempt from that requirement. State law also prohibits notaries from charging a fee for notarizing signatures on an absentee ballot.
Missourians who are casting ballots now must provide a reason, such as being away from home on Election Day, being confined due to illness or if they’re in a select group of professions that work on Election Day.
Starting July 21, voters don’t have to provide a reason for an absentee ballot.
Tiffany Ellison, the Democratic director of the Clay County Board of Election Commissioners, said the county rejects relatively few ballots for missing notarizations, generally fewer than 1 percent, but recent changes in state law have eliminated the ability for election workers to help voters fix the mistake.
“If it’s not notarized, it’s considered cast when we receive it in the office,” Ellison said. “We can’t contact a voter and tell them, ‘Hey, you need to come back in and sign this.’”
In previous elections, officials could notify voters of certain issues and allow them to correct them before certification. Now, Ellison said, ballots that arrive without a required notarization must be rejected.
To reduce those mistakes, Clay County includes instructions with every mail ballot packet, highlights the section requiring notarization and places another reminder on the return envelope before voters seal it.
“The notary, hands down, is very important if that’s a requirement,” Ellison said, noting that Missouri also accepts online notarizations.
Election officials also encourage voters to return ballots well before Election Day. The U.S. Postal Service recommends voters send ballots at least five days before an election, but some election officials recommend even more time.
“There’s no reason why we should not be getting mail every day,” Lauri Ealom, Democratic director of the Kansas City Election Board. “The day after the election, we have hundreds of ballots that come through that were mailed five weeks in advance.”
Elom encouraged voters to go directly to their local election boards for help on requesting and transmitting absentee ballots.
Chris Hershey, director of the Platte County Board of Elections, said his office sees very few problems with notarizations.
Instead, Hershey said voters should pay close attention to the deadlines. Applications to have a ballot mailed must be submitted no later than two weeks before Election Day, and completed ballots must arrive at election offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
