What you need to know and bring to vote Tuesday in Missouri’s primary election

Tuesday’s primary in Missouri will set the stage for this fall’s midterm election and may decide the fate of the state’s labor unions.

Here’s what you need to know about finding your polling place and making sure you have all the right ID, along with some of the key races.

If you encounter any problems at the polls, please contact The Star’s Hunter Woodall at (816) 234-4134 or hwoodall@kcstar.com.

You can also file complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Check your registration

The deadline has passed to register to vote in Missouri’s August primary. But if you didn’t make it, you still have until Oct. 10 to register for the fall general election, which will help determine the partisan makeup of the closely divided U.S. Senate and decide a number of big-ticket ballot initiatives.

You can make sure you’re registered by checking the Missouri secretary of state’s website at https://s1.sos.mo.gov/elections/voterlookup. Enter your name, address and birthday to make sure you’re registered.

From there, you can go to the office’s “Voter Outreach Portal,” and enter your address again to find your polling location, sample ballots and contact information for your local voting authority.

Poll hours

Polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you run late to the polls but are in line by 7 p.m., you still have the right to cast your vote. You don’t have to be done voting by the time the polls close.

Bring your ID

Despite a pending legal challenge, Missouri’s 2-year-old voter ID law is in effect, so you have to take a photo ID to the polls.

That can be a non-expired Missouri driver’s license or non-driver’s license, a non-expired military ID with a photo or any non-expired document issued by the U.S. or the state of Missouri with your name and photograph, including a passport.

You can bring some other form of ID, including a utility bill or bank statement, college photo ID or other government ID, and sign a statement provided by the election judge if you don’t have the required photo ID options. The secretary of state’s website has more on those options.

If you don’t have any of those types of ID, you can cast a provisional ballot that will be counted if you go back to your polling place and show ID or if the signature on your provisional ballot matches that on your voter registration card.

The heavily Republican Missouri General Assembly passed the voter ID law over the veto of then-Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, in 2016. Missouri voters approved it by a 26-point margin as an amendment to the state Constitution in November 2016.

This summer, Priorities USA, a national progressive organization, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to strike down the law, which it says will disenfranchise voters. Despite the ongoing litigation, the law is still in effect.

“Missouri’s new strict photo identification law is a burdensome policy that could disenfranchise up to 220,000 eligible voters,” said Priorities USA spokesman Matt Lopez. “Priorities USA is committed to making sure that every Missourian who is eligible to vote is able to do so without facing any unnecessary obstacles.”

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, called it “hogwash” that the voter ID law disenfranchises voters. He said it provides greater ballot access because those who don’t have any form of ID can cast provisional ballots and the office compares those signatures with voter registration cards to determine the ballots’ validity.

“We want people to know that if they’re registered, they can vote and their vote will count,” Ashcroft said.

What’s on the ballot

Here are some of the key races and issues on Tuesday’s ballot:

Proposition A — Right to Work: After labor groups gathered thousands of signatures, Missouri’s Right to Work law is being put before voters. The law allows workers to opt out of paying union dues as a condition of employment. Proponents say it’s unfair to force people to pay for unions; opponents say workers shouldn’t be able to reap the benefits from union representation without paying. Voting “yes” would keep the law, and “no” would repeal it.

U.S. Senate: Sen. Claire McCaskill shares the ballot with six little-known Democrats. On the Republican side, the 11-candidate field includes Trump-endorsed Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley as well as Tony Monetti, Austin Petersen and Courtland Sykes.

U.S. House: Democratic voters will choose their candidates in Missouri’s 4th and 6th congressional districts. In the 4th, Republican U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler has a primary challenger in John Webb. In the 6th, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is unchallenged in the Republican primary.

In the 5th District, Republican voters will pick a November opponent for Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

State auditor: Republican voters will choose among four candidates: Paul Curtman, Saundra McDowell, Kevin Roach and David Wasinger. The winner will face Nicole Galloway, the only Democrat holding statewide office, in November.

Healthy Homes: Question 1, a Kansas City ballot initiative, will leave it to voters whether the city should start a residential rental inspection program.

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 1:57 PM.