Vote by mail

Currently, eight states across the United States and Washington, D.C. operate elections almost entirely by mail.

In the past, residents needed to submit an application for a mail-in ballot for each individual election, but now they avoid that by filing an application for permanent vote-by-mail status with their local election authority.

A record-breaking 628,000 Missourians have already voted either by absentee or mail-in ballots. But casting the ballot is only the first part. Election authorities still need to process the vote for it to count.

Election authorities are busy processing those absentee and mail-in ballots and preparing for what could be record-breaking voter turnout. More than 100,000 Missouri voters have already cast a ballot through early voting.

The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected efforts by voting rights groups to make it easier to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is promoting fair elections, saying, “This will be the safest election we’ve ever had.”

To head off problems for the November election, the St. Louis 27th Ward Voter Empowerment Committee will host a virtual session on how to properly fill out absentee and mail-in ballots at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Missouri’s primary election is two weeks away, but voters do not need to wait for Election Day to cast a ballot.Last month, Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill…

Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Belleville News-Democrat.Lawmakers on Friday approved a bill that would expand Illinoisans’…