The League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County
Voting Information for College Students in Boone
County, MO
Where do I vote -- my
university’s town or the town I grew up in?
As a college student, you may choose to register yourself in the
town
you’re attending college or the town you lived before college.
It’s your choice. The address you put on Line 5, “Address Where
You Live,” is the address that will determine what local races and
ballot issues you’ll vote on, and it can be different from the address
on Line 6, “Address Where You Get Your Mail.” The Line 6 address
just tells the Clerk where to mail your voting information, and it can
be a campus or off-campus address, or even your parents’ home.
Whether or not you decide to register yourself as a Columbia voter, you
can use the registration form with the Boone County Clerk’s address on
the back. If your Line 5 address is not in Columbia, the form
will be forwarded to the appropriate county clerk. Example:
Angela Johnson moved to Columbia from St. Louis. She lives
here
most of the time but goes to St. Louis on many weekends. She
knows St. Louis well and wants to make her voice heard on issues and
candidates in St. Louis, so she enters her parents’ St. Louis address
on Line 5 and her dorm address on Line 6. Example 2: Teresa
Smith moved to Columbia from St. Louis as a freshman. Now she’s a
junior, and has decided to register in Columbia since her friend is
running for City Council. She puts her dorm address on Line 5 and
leaves Line 6 blank. Both students mail their forms to the Boone County
Clerk.
If you register to vote (Line 5) outside of Boone County, you must
request an absentee ballot from that other place’s election authority
no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before each election you want
to vote in. If you register to vote in Columbia, you’ll just go
to your polling place on Election Day.
How should I decide where to vote?
There are lots of things to consider when deciding what to put as
your
Line 5 address. Are you very interested in candidates and issues
in your home? What about Columbia politics? Sometimes
candidates for office in Columbia and Boone County and ballot issues
may have direct effects on students, and sometimes students and recent
alums even run for office. State representatives from Columbia
are there to speak for the students, faculty and staff of the colleges
and universities that make up a substantial share of their constituents.
On the one hand, you personally might leave Columbia and not be affected by the issues and candidates you vote for directly. On the other hand, new students will be taking your place, and they don't have a chance to vote now. And you never know...many alumni end up staying in Boone County after they graduate.
Practically speaking, which inconvenience would you rather face:
changing your voting address (Line 5) electronically each time you
move, which you’ll have to do if your Line 5 address is in Columbia, or
requesting an absentee ballot each time you want to vote in an
election, which you’ll have to do if your Line 5 address is in another
jurisdiction? For information on requesting absentee ballots, see
the Missouri Secretary of State’s site at www.sos.state.mo.us.
What if I’m not sure if or where I was registered at an earlier time?
If you registered earlier at some other address (again, we’re talking
about Line 5 here), or even think you might have but you aren’t sure,
put that address on Line 10. It’s okay to squish two addresses on
Line 10 if there are two possible places you might have registered
earlier – when in doubt, put it down. What makes things hard for
the clerk is if you are registered elsewhere
and don’t tell the clerk.
Do I need to do anything
special if I’m registering to vote for the first time?
If registering by mail for the first time, you may provide a copy of
appropriate identification: current or valid photo ID, copy of current
utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other
government document that shows your name and the address you’re putting
on Line 5. Or, you can just bring this proof of name and address
with you the
first time you vote.
What’s the age requirement?
You must be 18 years of age by the day of a particular election to be
eligible to vote in that election. You may register to vote
before you’re 18. – you just can’t vote until you’re 18.
How long before an election must I register?
You must register at least 28 days prior to the election; the form must
be received on the 4th Wednesday preceding the election. This
means you must register by
March 10 in order to vote in city elections
April 6. You must register by July 7 in order to vote in
primary
elections held by each party to determine who will enter the general
elections for Congress, state representatives, etc. You must
register by October 6
in order to vote in the general (including U.S.
Presidential) election on November 2. Once registered, you won’t
have to re-register for future elections. Note that the form must
be received by the Clerk by
these dates.
What happens if I change the address where I live, or change my name?
If you register in Columbia, and you move addresses within Boone
County, you can go to the County Clerk’s web page,
www.showmeboone.com/CLERK,
look yourself up, and update your address
using the online form. This also works for name changes.
Do I register as a member of a political party in Missouri?
No. You just register to vote, period. When you vote in a
primary election, the election official will ask you which party’s
ballot you want. If you participate in a delegate-electing caucus
after a primary election, you must sign a statement swearing that you
did not vote in another party’s primary election.
Where can I get a voter
registration card?
The Boone County Clerk's website has a form you
can print out and mail in. You may also request a mail-in
application by phone, 24 hours a day, at 875-VOTE. You can also
pick up postcard
registration forms at the ASUM office in the lower level of Brady Commons, post office or the public library.
Other civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters, and
advocacy organizations such the NAACP or the Sierra Club may also be
able to supply you with a postcard registration card. However,
returning your card to anyone other than the County Clerk does not
constitute meeting the deadline unless that third party gives your
registration to the County Clerk's office by the deadline.
Where can I go for further
information on voting?
The Boone County Clerk’s office is staffed by helpful people who can
answer any further questions about voting technicalities. Their
phone number is 886-4375. The Boone County Clerk’s website is
also full of good information. The reference librarians at
your college or university library and Columbia Public Library can help
you find information
on candidates and issues, and the League of Women Voters and other
organizations present limited information on candidates in brochures
and on the web (see, for instance, our Candidate and Issue Links
sections), and also holds candidate and issue forums before local
elections. The Columbia Daily Tribune’s web archive is a good
place to look up candidates and issues to check their news
coverage. The Missouri Secretary of State presides over state
elections.
Boone County Clerk: www.showmeboone.com/CLERK
Missouri Secretary of State: http://www.sos.mo.gov
MU, Ellis Library Ask A Librarian:
http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/refservices/contactus.html
Associated Students of the University of Missouri (ASUM): http://www.missouri.edu/~asum/
Columbia Public Library: http://www.dbrl.org/branch/columbia
Columbia Daily Tribune Archive Search:
http://archive.columbiatribune.com
League of Women Voters of Columbia, Boone County:
http://lwv.columbia.missouri.org
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