Getting registered to vote is a rite of passage for anyone who is about to turn 18. It gives them the opportunity to take part in the democratic process by casting a ballot in elections.
But anyone of any age who is eligible may register to vote at any time. To be able to register, a person must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state in which they are registering and be at least 17 years and six months of age and going to be 18 by election day.
There are deputy registrars at many locations in Missouri, including county clerks’ offices, DMV offices, schools, colleges and universities, city halls and libraries.
Katy Pattison is the Branch Manager of the Schweitzer-Brentwood branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District. She said having libraries as registration sites makes it easy for people to get registered to vote.
"All of our branches offer voter registration as a service," she said. "All of our branches have employees who are deputy registrars, so we are maybe a really accessible place for people to come and register to vote."
"Our staff that are deputy registrars have to go through a training with the county clerk's office. They have to keep that training updated every two years to be eligible to be a deputy registrar," said Pattison. "They also have to be a registered voter in Greene County. So, if we have staff who live outside the county, then they won't be eligible to be those deputy registrars. But we do try to have multiple staff who hold that role at branches. And in our larger branches, our branches that are open seven days a week, we're going to always have a deputy registrar on staff."
Even if there’s not a deputy registrar on duty when someone goes into a library to register, Pattison said they can still begin the process.
"Every branch is going to have those voter registration forms available, and we can send them to the county clerk's office for you," she said. "The difference between just filling out the form and sending it to the county clerk's and registering with a deputy registrar is our deputy registrar is confirming the identity of the person registering to vote, which kind of saves a step in the county clerk's office."
Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller explains how the deputy registrar program works.
"If they take the training through our office, then for the next two years they are able to be a deputy registrar. And so, they go through that training. And then at that point, they're able to see the ID. When they see the ID, then at that point, just like someone here in the office who's a deputy clerk, they can then validate that person. They then get sent the voter ID card. If someone doesn't register in our office or the DMV or the deputy registrar, then we get that application. We then send them information about we need to see your photo ID or proof, say for example, your citizenship documentation. That's another thing that you can use to be able to, on the day of the election, show up, validate who you are. Now in that case, if you don't have a photo ID, you would still have to fill out a provisional ballot because we're going to double check your signature. But ideally, most people do have their photo ID and that's what they use to register with.
Schoeller said libraries are great places to register and so are DMV locations.
"At any DMV they are required to offer voter registration. And the nice thing about that is now when people, you know, go to, you know, for example, renew their driver's license, they will ask them if they are registered to vote," he said. "And basically, we now get the form filled out for them with their signature. So, they don't even have to fill out the form in there. It's all done automated, and it makes it really convenient for the voter."
Stan Whitehurst is Webster County Clerk. He works out of the courthouse in Marshfield.
"We have lots of voter registration sites available. Any of the libraries in the county, any of the city halls in the county, here at the courthouse, but 90% of people vote at the register to vote at the license bureau," he said.
"You want to have sites where you're not having to train people constantly. So, you know, city halls and libraries have had more stable personnel to — so we can kind of show them what's involved," said Whitehurst. "But you want it to be broad enough that people can find it and use it. And also, you want to have places that are open hours that are beyond just business hours because people work. So, having a range of places available, I think is good."
Schoeller said a law that was passed in Missouri in 2022 made it even easier for voters already registered who moved out of their county.
"One of the nice things about our state is that a couple years ago, maybe it was three years ago, back in 2022, the law changed. And so, if you were registered in another county prior to that, if you moved to a new county, your registration started all over," he said. "Now, if you're registered to vote in another county in the state of Missouri and you moved to Greene County, you can update your registration even on the day of the election. Of course, you have to come to our office to do it. We have to check to make sure you haven't voted in another county, do a few things like that. But that has made it really convenient for voters."
The deadline to register to vote in the November General Election in Missouri is October 7th. Registration must be completed four weeks prior to an election.
That ballot will feature five statewide measures.
Amendment 3 would, among other things, repeal the 2024 voter-approved amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability.
Amendment 6 would “expand the initiative and referendum petition process by making it a fundamental right,” according to its ballot language.
Amendment 7 would amend the constitution to establish a permanent public endowment fund to support state government and would eliminate state-imposed taxes once the fund generates sufficient revenue to replace them.
Amendment 8 would amend the constitution to require counties to elect a sheriff every four years, which is currently required by state statute.
And Proposition A would repeal Missouri’s congressional map approved by lawmakers in a special session in 2025.
