Kansas and Missouri residents can vote by mail in the November election. Here’s how

Joseph Hernandez
·5 min read

Deadlines are approaching for Kansas and Missouri residents to vote by mail, also known as absentee, in the November general election.

In Kansas, you can apply for an absentee ballot until Oct. 31.

Missouri law requires that requests by mail for absentee ballots be received by 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday before Election Day, which is Oct. 25.

If you’re voting by mail in this election, here’s what you need to know.

How to vote by mail in Kansas

Anyone in Kansas can vote by mail. Here’s how to do so, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

1. Request a mail-in ballot. You do not need an excuse to request a mail-in ballot in Kansas. If you want one, just apply. They are not sent out automatically.

Apply for a mail-in ballot using the appropriate form from the Kansas Secretary of State’s website and send it to your county voting office, listed on page two of the form.

The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is generally one week before an election. You can check the deadlines for upcoming elections on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

2. Fill out your ballot. Follow the instructions included with your mailed ballot. After completing it, fill out your personal information and sign the first statement on the outside of your return envelope. You must also complete the other statements if someone helped you fill out your ballot.

Be sure your envelope is signed and sealed with your ballot inside before you return it. Even if you submit your ballot in person, it must be sealed inside the provided envelope in order to be counted. Your vote may not be counted if you don’t follow these instructions.

3. Return your ballot. Currently, your ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at your county election office by three days after Election Day in order to be counted— although a new law has been proposed in Kansas that would change that.

There are a few ways to return your ballot:

  • By mail: Send your sealed ballot envelope with 58 cents of postage or a Forever stamp to your county election office.

  • In person: Bring your sealed ballot envelope to your county election office on or before Election Day.

  • To a polling place or drop box: Some elections allow mailed ballots to be submitted in person to an early voting location, an Election Day polling place or a secure ballot drop box in your county. Ask your county’s election office website for more details.

Johnson County voters will no longer receive pre-filled-out advance ballot applications from the county election office for future elections after this fall.

The applications are not ballots, but are forms the office sends to every registered voter that had their name, address and other personal information filled out. Voters only needed to fill out the rest of the form and mail it back to be able to get a mail-in ballot.

Applications sent or returned this year are still valid.

How to vote absentee in Missouri

The only way to vote by mail is to apply for an absentee ballot with an approved reason for doing so, and mail it in to your local election authority. Here’s how to do that, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s website.

1. Request an absentee ballot. You will need to provide one of the following reasons to vote absentee:

  • Not physically being in your district on Election Day

  • Being or caring for a person who is sick or disabled

  • Religious reasons

  • Working on Election Day at a polling place other than your own

  • Being incarcerated, if you still meet all other requirements to vote

  • Being a part of Missouri’s address confidentiality program

If you meet one of the requirements above, you can apply for an absentee ballot using the form on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website. The application must be mailed, faxed or emailed to your local election authority, which you can find by selecting your county’s name on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website.

If you registered to vote by mail and have not voted in person, you must submit a copy of your ID with your absentee ballot request unless you already provided a copy with your voter registration application.

Missouri law requires that requests for absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday prior to Election Day, if they are mailed.

2. Fill out your ballot. Follow all of the instructions on your mailed absentee ballot and mark the choices you wish to vote for. Do this in secret, where no one else can see. Then place your ballot inside the provided envelope.

Do not seal or write on the outside of the envelope. Instead, make an appointment with a notary public to complete the next steps.

3. Notarize your ballot. Nearly everyone voting absentee in Missouri must get their ballot notarized. The exceptions are those voting absentee due to an illness or disability, caregivers of an ill or disabled person, overseas voters and active duty military members and their families. All other reasons listed above require you to find a notary public to verify your ballot officially.

Make an appointment with a notary in your area and bring along your government ID and completed ballot in its unsealed envelope. For example, the Kansas City Public Library offers free notary services at branches around Kansas City.

If someone helped you fill out your ballot, bring them to the appointment.

Seal the envelope in front of the notary, fill out your contact information on the outside of the envelope and sign it with the notary watching. If someone helped you fill out your ballot, they should follow the ballot’s instructions to sign the envelope too. Once the notary has witnessed you seal and sign the envelope on your own, they can then notarize your ballot.

Notaries in Missouri are not permitted to charge a fee for notarizing a ballot, even if they charge fees for other notary services.

4. Return your ballot. Mail your completed absentee ballot to your local election authority. You can find that address by selecting your county on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website. The ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted, so get it in the mail as early as possible.

The Star’s Natalie Wallington contributed to this report