Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots in Missouri, 2020

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In August 2020, The New York Times estimated that 80 million Americans would vote by absentee/mail-in ballot in November 2020. That would have been more than double the number who did so in November 2016. The processes states use to count absentee/mail-in ballots have come under closer inspection by state officials, candidates, political parties, and the media.

This article describes the rules in Missouri for processing, counting, and rejecting absentee/mail-in ballots in effect for the November 2020 election. It includes:

• How ballots are processed and counted
• Whether ballots can be challenged
• Conditions for rejecting a ballot
• Whether voters can correct mistakes on a ballot

The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions.

Processing and counting ballots

See also: When states can begin processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots, 2020

Upon receiving completed absentee/mail-in ballots, election officials must first process the ballots before they can be counted. Processing generally entails verifying voter signatures and physically preparing ballots for tabulation. Processing practices can vary widely from state to state. Counting entails the actual tabulation of votes.

The table below highlights key dates and deadlines related to absentee/mail-in voting in Missouri for the November 2020 election.

Absentee voting in Missouri: Nov. 3, 2020, election.

Were there limits on who can request a ballot?

No

What was the deadline for requesting a ballot by mail?

Oct. 21, 2020

Was the request deadline a postmark or receipt deadline?

Received

What was the deadline for returning a voted ballot by mail?

Nov. 3, 2020

Was the return deadline a postmark or receipt deadline?

Received

Were there notary or witness requirements?

Notary only

Processing ballots

Officials in Missouri began processing absentee/mail-in ballots on November 3, 2020. As of November 2020, Missouri law included the following provision for processing absentee/mail-in ballots:

“

In each jurisdiction, the election authority may start, not earlier than the fifth day prior to the election, the preparation of absentee ballots for tabulation on the election day. The election authority shall give notice to the county chairman of each major political party forty-eight hours prior to beginning preparation of absentee ballot envelopes. Absentee ballot preparation shall be completed by teams of election authority employees or teams of election judges, with each team consisting of one member from each major political party.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.300 (2019)

Counting ballots

Officials in Missouri began counting absentee/mail-in ballots on November 3, 2020. As of November 2020, Missouri law included the following provision for counting absentee/mail-in ballots:

“

2. The teams so appointed shall meet on election day after the time fixed by law for the opening of the polls at a central location designated by the election authority. The election authority shall deliver the absentee ballots to the teams, and shall maintain a record of the delivery. The record shall include the number of ballots delivered to each team and shall include a signed receipt from two judges, one from each major political party. The election authority shall provide each team with a ballot box, tally sheets and statements of returns as are provided to a polling place. 3. Each team shall count votes on all absentee ballots designated by the election authority. 4. To process absentee ballots in envelopes, one member of each team, closely observed by another member of the team from a different political party, shall open each envelope and call the voter's name in a clear voice. Without unfolding the ballot, two team members, one from each major political party, shall initial the ballot, and an election judge shall place the ballot, still folded, in a ballot box. No ballot box shall be opened until all of the ballots a team is counting have been placed in the box. The votes shall be tallied and the returns made as provided in sections 115.447 to 115.525 for paper ballots. After the votes on all ballots assigned to a team have been counted, the ballots and ballot envelopes shall be enclosed in sealed containers marked "voted absentee ballots and ballot envelopes from the election held ____, 20___". All rejected absentee ballots and envelopes shall be enclosed and sealed in a separate container marked "rejected absentee ballots and envelopes from the election held ____, 20 ____". On the outside of each voted ballot and rejected ballot container, each member of the team shall write his or her name, and all such containers shall be returned to the election authority. Upon receipt of the returns and ballots, the election authority shall tabulate the absentee vote along with the votes certified from each polling place in its jurisdiction.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.299 (2019)

Missouri law included the following provision for who may count absentee/mail-in ballots:

“

1. To count absentee votes on election day, the election authority shall appoint a sufficient number of teams of election judges comprised of an equal number of judges from each major political party.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.299 (2019)

Missouri law included the following provision for poll watchers:

“

1. The chair of the county committee of each political party named on the ballot shall have the right to designate a challenger for each polling place, who may be present until all ballots are cast on the day of election, and a challenger for each location at which absentee ballots are counted, who may be present while the ballots are being prepared for counting and counted. No later than four business days before the election, the chair of each county committee of each political party named on the ballot shall provide signed official designation forms with the names of the designated challengers and substitutes to the local election authority for confirmation of eligibility to serve as a challenger. The local election authority, after verifying the eligibility of each designated and substitute challenger, shall sign off on the official designation forms, unless the challenger is found not to have the qualifications established by subsection 5 of this section. If the election authority determines that a challenger does not meet the qualifications of subsection 5 of this section, the designating party chair may designate a replacement challenger and provide the local election authority with the name of the replacement challenger before 5:00 p.m. of the Monday preceding the election. The designating chair may substitute challengers at his or her discretion during such hours.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.105 (2019)

Challenging ballots

Absentee/mail-in ballots may be challenged in an attempt to prevent the ballot from being counted. Ballots may be challenged for a variety of reasons, including: allegations that the voter is not qualified to vote in the election, the ballot was not received by the stated deadline, or that the voter had already voted in the same election. The methods and reasons for challenging ballots vary and are provided in state law. States without such provisions do not allow challenging absentee/mail-in ballots.

As of November 2020, Missouri law included the following provision for challenging ballots:

“

Any absentee ballot or any vote on an absentee ballot may be challenged by the same persons and in the same manner as provided in section 115.429. Each challenge shall be decided in the manner provided in the same section.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.303 (2019)

As of November 2020, Missouri law included the following provisions for handling challenged ballots:

“

3. Any question of doubt concerning the identity or qualifications of a voter shall be decided by a majority of the judges from the major political parties. If such election judges decide not to permit a person to vote because of doubt as to his or her identity or qualifications, the person may apply to the election authority as provided in section 115.193 or file a complaint with the elections division of the secretary of state's office under and pursuant to section 115.219. 4. If the election judges cannot reach a decision on the identity or qualifications of any person, the question shall be decided by the election authority. 5. The election judges or the election authority may require any person whose right to vote is challenged to execute an affidavit affirming his or her qualifications. The election authority shall furnish to the election judges a sufficient number of blank affidavits of qualification, and the election judges shall enter any appropriate information or comments under the title ""Remarks"" which shall appear at the bottom of the affidavit. All executed affidavits of qualification shall be returned to the election authority with the other election supplies. Any person who makes a false affidavit of qualification shall be guilty of a class one election offense.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.429 (2019)

“

1. The election judges shall not permit any person to vote unless satisfied that such person is the person whose name appears on the precinct register. 2. The identity or qualifications of any person offering to vote may be challenged by any election authority personnel, any registered voter, or any duly authorized challenger at the polling place. No person whose right to vote is challenged shall receive a ballot until his or her identity and qualifications have been established.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.429 (2019)

Rejecting ballots

As of November 2020, Missouri law included the following provision for rejecting absentee/mail-in ballots:

“

Absentee ballots not eligible to be counted, when, procedure. — 1. All proper votes on each absentee ballot received by an election authority at or before the time fixed by law for the closing of the polls on election day shall be counted. Except as provided in section 115.920, no votes on any absentee ballot received by an election authority after the time fixed by law for the closing of the polls on election day shall be counted. 2. If sufficient evidence is shown to an election authority that any absentee voter has died prior to the opening of the polls on election day, the ballot of the deceased voter shall be rejected if it is still sealed in the ballot envelope. Any ballot so rejected, still sealed in its ballot envelope, shall be sealed with the application and any other papers connected therewith in an envelope marked ""Rejected ballot of ______, an absentee voter of ______ voting district"". The reason for rejection shall be noted on the envelope, which shall be kept by the election authority with the other ballots from the election until the ballots are destroyed according to law.

”

See law: MO Rev Stat § 115.293 (2019)

Ballot curing

Ballot curing refers to the process by which voters can correct mistakes—such as a missing or mismatched signature—with an absentee/mail-in ballot so that the ballot can be counted. Ballot curing provisions lay out this process in state law. States without such provisions do not count absentee/mail-in ballots with errors.

As of November 2020, Missouri law did not include a provision for curing ballots.

Rules in other states

Click on a state below to view information on processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots in that state.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election

Click on a question below to read the answer:

• General election information
  • Who runs elections in the United States?
  • Why do states have different election rules?
  • What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
  • Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
  • What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
  • What is a spoiled ballot?
  • What is a write-in candidate?
  • How can I check the status of my ballot?
  • Can I take a ballot selfie?

• Presidential election
  • What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
  • What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
  • What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
  • What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
  • What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
  • Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?

• Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
  • What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
  • What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
  • How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
  • How do election workers match signatures?
  • Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
  • Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
  • Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?

• Disputing election results
  • How will election recounts work?
  • How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
  • Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
  • Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
  • What are poll watchers?
  • What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
  • What is a redo election?
  • Who can file election-related lawsuits?
  • What are the reasons to call a redo election?
  • Who can call a redo election?
  • Can a redo be held for a presidential election?

• Election result reporting and certification
  • What happens if candidates declare victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can candidates win an election if they have already conceded?
  • How and when are election results finalized?
  • How do major media outlets declare winners?

• Transitions of power and taking office
  • Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
  • Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
  • Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
  • What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?

• Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
• U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

See also

• Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk
• Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
• Absentee/mail-in voting, 2020