Voter Registration

     The election authority in Scott County is the County Clerk who oversees the activities that take place before and during all state, municipal, school and local elections. This includes voter registration and the issuance of absentee ballots. Missourians must be registered by the 4th Wednesday prior to an election in order to vote in that election.

• The County Clerk's office at the Scott County Courthouse in Benton,
• City Clerk's offices,
• By mail through the postcard voter registration application available at ___________

     You can register to vote or change your name or address on your current registration, by completing a Voter Registration Application and turning it into one of the locations above.

ABSENTEE VOTING

     Missourians unable to go to their polling place on Election Day may vote absentee beginning six weeks prior to an election. Absentee voters must provide one of the following reasons for voting absentee:

• Absence on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which the voter is registered to vote.
• Incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability, including a person who is primarily responsible for the physical care of a person who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability.
• Religious belief or practice.
• Employment as an election authority, as a member of an election authority, or by an election authority at a location other than such voter's polling place.
• Incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained.

     Request for Absentee Ballot Form (there is a pdf form on the server - it will need changes made such as putting in the county clerk's information on the bottom in place of generic "election authority" and "Mo. SOS web site.)

     Voters can request absentee ballots from the County Clerk's office in person or by fax. Relatives within the first degree (parents and children) may complete an absentee ballot application, in person, on behalf of the voter who wishes to vote absentee. Mail in or faxed absentee ballot requests must be received by the County Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to any election. Voters can vote absentee in the County Clerk's office until 5:00 p.m. the day before the election.

     If you have registered to vote by mail and are voting absentee the first time you vote, you are required to provide a copy of your identification with your absentee ballot request unless you provided a copy with your voter registration application. Acceptable forms of identification are:

• I.D. issued by the State of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state;
• I.D. issued by the U.S. government or agency therof;
• I.D. issued by a Missouri institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school;
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter; or
• Driver's License or state identification card issued by another state.

     This identification requirement, as well as the notary requirement for absentee ballots, does not apply to overseas voters, those on active military duty or members of their immediate family living with them or voters who are declared disabled and their caregivers. Information for military and overseas voters can be found on the Secretary of State's website here.