Special session needed to allow no-excuse absentee voting; hand delivery of mail-in ballots; counting of every ballot postmarked by Election Day
Jefferson City, MO – In response to a formal warning from the United States Postal Service that Missouri ballots may be delayed and rendered invalid, State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, today called on her legislative colleagues to fix Missouri’s laws to ensure every ballot legally cast would be counted in the general election.
“Every ballot properly cast should be properly counted. Unfortunately, under current law, Missouri ballots properly cast may not be counted if they are delayed in the mail. This delay takes away a person’s right to vote, even though that voter did nothing wrong,” Sen. Schupp said. “As elected officials, we have a responsibility to fix this issue before it disenfranchises tens of thousands of Missouri voters. There is still time, but we must act now.”
Under current Missouri law, all ballots sent in by mail must be delivered to local election authorities by 7 p.m. on Election Day for them to be counted. Current Missouri law also states mail-in ballots cannot be hand delivered to local election authorities. For absentee ballots, multiple reasons for voting absentee from which a voter must choose have different requirements, which may lead to confusion.
In a letter dated July 31, 2020, Thomas Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president of the United States Postal Service warned the Missouri secretary of state’s office Missouri ballots may be delayed in delivery to election authorities, despite these ballots being properly mailed and postmarked. Under existing Missouri law, this delay would cause these ballots to be invalid even though the voters did everything correctly.
Senator Schupp’s proposal would allow an absentee or mail-in ballot to be counted in the election if the returned ballot is postmarked on or before Election Day. According to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states count a mailed ballot if it is received after Election Day but postmarked prior to the election.
Other changes proposed by Sen. Schupp include:
- Allow for Missouri mail-in ballots to be returned to a voter’s local election authority in person, just like an absentee ballot.
- Join the 34 other states that allow all registered voters to vote absentee without having to provide an excuse or reason for voting absentee.
- Repeal Missouri’s existing law, shared only by two other states, that requires voters in some circumstances to have their mail-in or absentee ballot notarized.
To enact these changes before the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, Sen. Schupp has called on her colleagues in the Missouri Senate to sign a formal petition to call the General Assembly into special session to consider these changes.