There’s still time to get a photo ID before midterm election

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) -- With three weeks to go before the midterm election on November 8, election officials are reminding Missouri voters that they’ll need a government-issued photo ID when they go to the polls. Bob and JoAnn Oestereich brought two forms when they voted absentee on Wednesday.

“We brought out passports just in case,” said Bob Oestereich.

A new state law requires Missouri voters to present a driver’s license, a state-issued non-driver’s ID, a passport or a military ID when they go to the polls. According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, voters who don’t drive can get a non-driver’s ID for free at a state license office. Anyone who gets a driver’s license at the last minute and is still waiting for the physical license to arrive in the mail on election day doesn’t need to worry, according to St. Louis County elections co-director, Eric Fey.

“If you have the temporary paper license from the license office, that works as well,” Fey said. “Because it still has your picture and all the information we need on it.”

If a voter doesn’t have a valid form of ID on November 8, they’ll have to cast a provisional ballot. Those ballots will be preserved for verification and counting later. Gary Stoff is an election co-director in St. Louis.

“The voter has to fill out an envelope that contains their important information. Name, phone number, address, last 4 digits of social. Information that we need to verify that they’re a registered voter,” he said.

St. Louis County Election Co-Director Rick Stream said provisional ballots won’t be counted on election night.

“The next three or four days, sometimes it’ll take us a week if we have a large number of provisional ballots,” said Stream.

A new state law also allows for no-excuse absentee voting in the two weeks prior to election day. No-excuse absentee voting will begin on October 25t. St. Louis residents can vote absentee at the board of elections at 300 N. Tucker. When no-excuse voting begins, satellite locations will be opened at:

• Buder Library at 4401 HamptonJulia Davis Library at 4415 Natural Bridge AvenueSchlafly Library at 22 N Euclid
• St. Louis County voters can vote absentee at the county’s election offices at 725 Northwest Plaza Drive. On October 27th voters will be able to vote absentee at these satellite locations:
• Mid-County Branch of the St. Louis County Library at 7821 Maryland Ave.Daniel Boone Branch of the St. Louis County Library at 300 Clarkson RoadSt. Louis Community College, Meramec campus student center at 11333 Big Bend RoadUMSL Millennium Student Center at 17 Arnold B Grobman DriveNorth County Recreation complex at 2577 Redman RoadSt. Johns Evangelical United Church of Christ at 11333 St. Johns Church Road

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