In honor of National Voter Registration Week, we’ve compiled a list of resources for a quick and easy guide on how to register to vote in the US.
How to Check if You’re Registered
Go to the nonprofitvote website and select the state you think you might be registered in. The website will direct you to your state’s board of election website, where you can see if you’re registered to vote. Some states do some voter “purging” if you are not an active voter, so it’s important to make sure you are still registered to vote.
How to Register
If you are a student or staff member at Washington University in St. Louis, you can use this TurboVote website to register in Missouri, or any of the 50 states. Remember that if you are a student at WashU, you qualify as a Missouri Resident and can vote here with your student ID, but make sure you’re familiar with Missouri’s Voter ID Laws (see below).
Tips for using TurboVote:
- If you believe you are registered in another state or previous address, make sure to enter that previous address and the website will ask you if you have moved recently and you can change your voting address or register in your new state. Your polling place will depend on this address (see the Missouri ID laws below).
- TurboVote will redirect you to your state/county board of elections website to register, but make sure you go back to the TurboVote webpage to finish signing up!
- Some states allow you to register online, Missouri is one of these states! But to register online, you will have to visit the TurboVote website on a phone or tablet to complete the signature. Otherwise, you can fill out the form, print it, and mail it in.
- If you are registered to vote already, signing up with TurboVote can also direct you to apply for absentee ballots and will keep you up-to-date on important deadlines and reminders.
If you would like more information on how to vote in your state, you can find your state specific video on the How to Vote in Every State YouTube channel. Or you can check out Vote.org.
Voting in Missouri
Deadline to register to vote for the midterm elections: OCTOBER 10TH
Midterm election date: NOVEMBER 6TH
Check if you’re a registered voter in Missouri: Missouri SoS voter lookup
Register to vote in Missouri: Missouri SoS online form *remember you must complete this form on a phone or tablet to complete the signature
Find your polling place in St. Louis: Polling Locator
Voting Absentee in Missouri
As of September 25th, you can do in-person absentee voting at your board of elections office.
To vote absentee by mail in Missouri, you have to apply for a ballot by 5pm on October 31. The absentee ballots are due when the polls close on November 6th and absentee ballots have to be notarized to be valid. Notaries can usually be found at a bank or post office.
More information on voting absentee in St. Louis: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/voter/absentee-ballot-and-voting.cfm
For more information on instructions and information on voting in Missouri you can visit: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/howtovote OR https://www.vote.org/state/missouri/
Missouri Voter ID laws
To vote in Missouri, you have to show a valid form of identification at your polling place. There are 3 options for the what those forms of identification can be.
Option 1: A primary form of ID such as a valid Missouri Drivers license, non-drivers license, passport, or military ID card with the address that you are registered to vote under.
Option 2: A secondary form of ID such as a voter registration card, student ID from a Missouri school, utility bill, bank statement, or government check AND you must sign a statement/affidavit that you are who you say you are.
Option 3: Vote a provisional ballot. In this case, your vote will only count if you can return and show a valid form of identification or if you ballot signature matches your signature in the voter registry.
More information on Missouri Voter ID laws can be found at: https://www.sos.mo.gov/showit2vote
Polling Locations and What’s on the Ballot
Find your polling place: https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/
Information for what’s on your ballot: https://www.vote411.org/
We hope that this information helps everyone get registered and ready to vote in November and in other future elections! If you have other questions, please comment below and we will try to help research them.