The voting Process

As midterm elections approach Nov. 3, it is important to know how the voting process works. So, here is a brief rundown on how you can vote in the Missouri midterm elections.

The first step in the voting process is registering to vote. The deadline for registering to vote always happens four weeks before an election. This year, the deadline was Oct. 7. 

Sandy Collop, the county clerk of Adair County, said although voter registration can happen by visiting the county clerk’s office, many students choose to register via the Secretary of State’s website.

From there exist two paths to voting. Collop said one method is filling in a ballot at a designated polling area. If you are registered to vote in Adair County, your designated voting location is likely the Student Union Building of Truman State University. 

The other way is to fill in a mail-in ballot. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot was Oct. 21. If you are unable to vote in the county in which you are registered, Collop said you can vote absentee at the Adair County Annex until Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. The ballot must be received by election day. 

To vote in Kirksville, you must be a registered voter in Adair County. Collop said that on election day many students find they have registered in their home county rather than Adair County.

Thanks to 2022 legislation, students can now change the county of their voter registration on election day should they find that they made this mistake. To do so, they need to go to the county clerk’s office and request to change their county of registration. 

Collop said that Adair County does not have different voting practices than in other Missouri counties.