The 2020 Presidential election is coming in the fall, and the primary is happening right now. Here’s what to understand in order to be eligible to vote. Of the 6 million people that live in the state of Missouri right now, 4 million are eligible to vote.

Usually, people have the same questions about voting, especially when it gets closer to the election. According to the website of John R. Ashcroft, Missouri Secretary of State, people who are 17 ½ years old, U.S. citizens and Missouri residents meet the necessary requirements in order to be eligible to vote in Missouri.

If a person meets all these requirements, they are entitled to vote. Also, to be entitled to vote a person must be registered to vote in the jurisdiction of their home prior to the election, cannot be imprisoned, cannot be on probation or parole after conviction of a felony, cannot have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor connected to voting and cannot have been declared incapacitated.

There are four voter registration options for those in Missouri. A person can submit the voter registration application online or print and mail it. The voter can make their registration in person at their County’s Clerk office, or the voter can request an application to be mailed. In order to vote, the Voter Registration Form needs to be postmarked by the fourth Wednesday before the election. That means the deadline to register to vote in the primary has passed. The deadline to vote in the presidential election is Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Once registered, the voter needs to determine where they are supposed to vote. In order to find the polling place, the Secretary of State’s website provides a link where you type your current residential address and it shows your polling location information. Also, the polling location is provided and updated by local elections authorities. In the state of Missouri, the polls will be open 6 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.

On the Election Day, the state of Missouri requests an ID card, but it does not have to have a photo. If the ID is not presented, the voter can cast a regular ballot if two election officials attest that they know the voter.

The state of Missouri does not have the option of early voting, and the voter needs to be present on the Election Day to vote. However, there is an option of filing an absentee ballot in advance.

People who were absent on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote; people who are incapacitated or are in 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; people who have religious beliefs and practices that do not allow them to vote in the day of the election; people who are employed as an election authority; incarcerated people and people who don’t go to vote because of safety concerns are allowed to be absent on the Election Day and may file an absentee ballot.