ST. LOUIS – Concerns over delayed mail are intensifying as the Nov. 5 presidential election approaches.
In August, we reported on concerns in Pike County after absentee votes arrived after the August primary.
On Thursday, Tom Wallace, the eastern district commissioner for Pike County, said there continues to be “terrible” delays.
“In Missouri, the law is very black and white,” Eric Fey, Democratic elections director for the St. Louis County Election Board, said. “The ballot must be back to the board of elections by 7 p.m. on election night.”
Fey said Missouri law states ballots received any time after 7 p.m. on election night will not be counted.
There are various reasons a voter could be eligible to vote absentee by mail in Missouri, including an incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability.
“We already have well over 10,000 applications in for the November election,” Fey added.
Ben Borgmeyer is the Democratic elections director for the Board of Election Commissioners in the City of St. Louis. He encourages voters to be prepared for the possibility of mail delays.
“If that’s how you plan to vote, do it as soon as possible,” he said. “You can fill out a request now online or via mail.”
Borgmeyer and Fey said in recent elections there have been instances in St. Louis City and County where absentee mail votes have arrived too late to be counted.
They want voters to be aware there is a way to track their ballot once it’s sent in the mail.
“There’s a stub that comes with the ballot that’s detachable. That detachment stub gives you access to an online portal to track the status of a ballot,” Borgmeyer noted.
Ballots can also be delivered in person by family members related within two degrees of the absentee voter.
St. Louis City voters can find more information here. St. Louis County voters can find more information here.
Missouri voters can find their local election authority contact information through the Secretary of State’s website.
