Missouri allows Absentee Voting for those who meet at least ONE of the below:
- – You will be absent from your voting jurisdiction on Election Day
- – You are incapaciatated or confined due to illness or physical disaibility, or are caring for an incapacitated person and reside at the same address. For more information on permanent disability, click or tap here.
- – You are restricted by religious belief or practice
- – You are employed as any of the following:
- – A member of an election authority
- – A first responder
- – A healthcare worker
- – A member of law enforcement
- – You are incarcerated, but have retained all of your voting qualifications
- – You are in the Missouri SAFE At Home program
If you meet any of the above requirements, the next step is to decide if you want to vote absentee by mail or in-person.
If you do not meet any of the above requirements, you can participate in No-Excuse Absentee Voting. Learn more here.
Types of Absentee Voting
Absentee Voting by Mail
- – To vote by mail, you may request an application for an Absentee Ballot once the application is available. Applications must be received by the second Wednesday prior to any election. Absentee Ballots will be mailed out to voters starting 6 weeks prior to any election.
- – Please note that all ballots must be notorized*, signed, and received by KCEB no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.
- – *Excludes those submitted by an incapacited or confined voter
Absentee Voting In Person
- – Absentee Voting With an Excuse begins 6 weeks prior to an election exclusively at KCEB’s Absentee Office at 4405 E. 50th Terr., which is in the same parking lot as the main KCEB Office.
- – No-Excuse Absentee Voting begins 2 weeks prior to any election at KCEB’s Absentee Office and select satellite poll locations across Kansas City. Learn more here.
Absentee Ballot Application
Have a Question?
Call 816-842-4820 Ext. 239 or email absenteevoting@kceb.org.
Visit us in-person at 4407 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64130.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I am hospitalized before the election, can I still vote?
Absentee teams are available to deliver, witness and return the applications and actual ballot for voters who are: hospitalized or confined due to illness or injury after 5 pm on the Wednesday before an election.
Can I permanately receive Absentee Ballots for every election?
A person who is confined at home, or at a nursing or rehabilitative facility may request to be placed on the permanently disabled list. These voters will automatically receive an absentee application for every election in their jurisdiction. Also, they will not be required to have their absentee ballots notarized.
As a candidate for office, am I allowed to see who applied for an Absentee Ballot?
On the Friday before the election, after 8 am, a list of Absentee Ballot Applicants is available to candidates and their representatives. The cost is ten cents ($0.10) per page.
How do I know what candidates or issues will be on the ballot?
A complete Sample Ballot is available here six weeks prior to every election.
Additional Missouri Absentee Ballot Rules:
State law requires that applicants (or a relative/guardian) submit an absentee ballot application to the local election authority. The law specifies who may submit these applications to the election authority, and does not authorize a third party to submit the application on behalf of the voter unless a relative, as described in Section 115.279, RSMo.
Application for an absentee ballot may be made by or for the applicant in person, by mail, or by fax.
Any organization that sends absentee ballot application forms to a voter with instructions to print, complete, and submit to the voter’s LEA is operating within the law. However, an organization that collects information and submits an absentee ballot application on behalf of the voter (and is not related) is not meeting the requirements of the law.
Any deviation from the statutory requirements can – and previously has – resulted in contested elections.