SB 892 - Currently, the Secretary of State is charged with establishing procedures for absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters to request, receive, and send voter registration applications and request and receive absentee ballots by mail or electronically. This act repeals provisions related to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters and institutes the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act to apply to all federal elections, statewide and state legislative elections and local elections where absentee ballots are authorized. The Secretary of State is required to establish an electronic transmission system through which a covered voter may apply and receive voter registration materials and military-overseas ballots.
The act allows covered voters to use a federal postcard application or the declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot to apply to register to vote. Such voters who are registered to vote in Missouri may apply for a military-overseas ballot and those who are not registered may use a federal postcard application to simultaneously register and apply for a military-overseas ballot.
Covered voters who are eligible to register and vote but who are not registered may vote for President, Vice President, and United States Senator and Representative by absentee ballot, federal write-in absentee ballot or at the person's polling place after submitting an affidavit that the person is qualified to vote.
Covered voters may use a federal write-in absentee ballot to vote for all offices and ballot measures.
A "covered voter" is defined as :
(1) A uniformed-service voter or an overseas voter who is registered to vote in this state;
(2) A member of the active or reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States who is on active duty whose voting residence is in this state and who otherwise satisfies this state's voter eligibility requirements;
(3) An overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, was last eligible to vote in this state and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state's voter eligibility requirements;
(4) An overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, would have been last eligible to vote in this state had the voter then been of voting age and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state's voter eligibility requirements; or
(5) An overseas voter who was born outside the United States, is not described in (3) or (4) above, and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state's voter eligibility requirements, if the last place where a parent or legal guardian of the voter was, or would have been, eligible to vote before leaving the United States is within this state; and the voter has not previously registered to vote in any other state.
CHRIS HOGERTY