October 2006
Judicial Evaluation Survey Results Still Available to VotersFrequently Asked Questions for VotersJudicial Evaluation Survey Results Still Available to Voters
With the November 7 general election just one weeks away, voters are in search of reliable information about candidates seeking office. For voters seeking information about judges seeking retention on the bench under Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, that information is just a mouse click or two away. But only a slight percentage of voters have visited The Missouri Bar’s website to check how lawyers rated merit selection judges who will be standing in retention contests in November.
Converting the number of hits tallied by web monitoring software to an actual number of visitors is an inexact science. However, the numbers on The Missouri Bar’s website,
www.mobar.org, indicate that only about 8,500 people have clicked on the ratings of the judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri. For other appellate level judges and trial-level judges, the numbers are much smaller.
Electronic copies of
Voters’ Information About Judges – a booklet containing the results of the 2006 Judicial Evaluation Survey, photos and biographical information about the 53 judges who are seeking retention across the state – have been posted on The Missouri Bar’s website since the survey results were made public.
In addition, The Missouri Bar, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association – the three bar organizations that sponsor the survey – have been distributing 150,000 printed copies of the survey results since that date.
The survey covers all judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and trial courts in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Jackson County, Platte County and Clay County who are seeking retention on the bench under Missouri’s merit selection and retention system.
As soon as the University of Missouri’s Economic & Policy Analysis Research Center completed tabulating the results of the anonymous survey of Missouri’s lawyers, The Missouri Bar began printing 150,000 copies of
Voters’ Information About Judges.
The survey results were shared with the public on August 29, when officers from all three bar organizations conducted simultaneous news conferences in St. Louis, Kansas City and Jefferson City. While the news conferences were in progress, every media outlet in the state was sent a news release explaining the survey’s significance. Within days, more than 800 reporters, editors and news directors had in their hands the news release and a copy of
Voters’ Information About Judges.
The media play an important role in disseminating the results of the evaluations and advising Missourians where to find this information, but the three cooperating bar organizations also use more direct routes to voters. Thousands of copies of
Voters’ Information About Judges were mailed to libraries throughout the state. Copies were also shipped to all courthouses, to many senior citizen centers, and to the League of Women Voters. In both St. Louis and Kansas City, the local bar associations will be delivering copies of the booklet to grocery stores and other high-traffic locales.
Frequently Asked Questions for Voters
The following information regarding questions most frequently asked by voters is taken from the website of the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office.
1. What are the qualifications to be a voter?
In order to register to vote, an individual must be:
a. A citizen of the United States;
b. A resident of the State of Missouri; and
c. 17 years and 6 months of age (must be 18 by election day).
If an individual meets these requirements, they are entitled to register to vote. To be entitled to vote, a person:
d. Must be registered to vote in the jurisdiction of the person’s domicile prior to the election;
e. Cannot be imprisoned;
f. Cannot be on probation or parole after conviction of a felony;
g. Cannot have been convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor connected to voting; and
h. Cannot have been declared incapacitated.
2. How do I register to vote?
In order to register to vote, Missourians must submit a completed voter registration application to their local election authority. This can be done in one of two ways, in person or by mail.
A voter may register in person at one of the following locations:
• The office of their local election authority
• At a drivers licensing office while applying for or renewing a driver’s license
• At a designated state agency while the applicant is obtaining services from the agency. Examples of state agencies providing registration applications to their clients include Division of Family Services, Military Recruitment, or WIC.
When registering in person, applicants are required to present a valid Missouri driver’s license or another form of personal identification.
A voter can also register to vote by mail by completing a post card voter registration application. You can request an application from the local election authority or from the Missouri Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.mo.gov. Within 7 days of receiving your registration, the election authority should mail verification that your registration has been received and processed. If you do not receive this verification, you should contact your local election authority to ensure that you are indeed registered to vote. The verification is not the same as your voter identification card. You will not receive a voter identification card until you have voted in an election following your mail-in registration and provided proper identification at the polling place.
3. What is the deadline for registering to vote in an election?
In order to be registered to vote in an election, you need to be registered by 5:00 p.m., or the normal close of business of any public building where registration is allowed, whichever is later, on the fourth Wednesday prior to the election. If you register after such time, you are registered to vote in subsequent elections.
4. What should I do about my registration if I marry, move, or change my name?
In order to change your name in the voter registration lists, you need to contact the election authority before the election or an election judge at your polling place and notify them of the change. The election authority will enter the change on the record and issue new voter identification cards. Voters are allowed to vote at one election under the old name without changing their voter registration.
The best way to update voter registration information is to contact your local election authority.
If you have moved to a different address within the same county, you are permitted to change your registration address on Election Day at your new polling place or the central polling location. It is recommended that you contact your local election official with any address changes prior to Election Day in order to determine your assigned polling place.
In order to change your address if you move outside the boundaries of the election jurisdiction in which you were previously registered, you will need to fill out a new voter registration form at any of the offices where registration is permitted.
If you moved before the deadline to register for an election, you must complete your new registration prior to the registration deadline in order to be eligible to vote a full ballot. If you moved after the registration deadline, you will be entitled to vote a limited ballot, containing only federal and statewide candidates and issues once you submit a completed voter registration application in person with the local election authority. People moving from one election jurisdiction to another prior to the registration deadline who fail to register to vote by the registration deadline will not be able to vote in that particular election.
If you moved to Missouri after the deadline to register for a presidential election, you are entitled to register and vote only a presidential and vice presidential ballot.
5. What kind of identification do I need to take with me to vote?
Acceptable forms of ID to vote are:
1. Identification issued by the state of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state;
2. Identification issued by the United States government or agency thereof;
3. Identification issued by an institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school, located within the state of Missouri;
4. A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other governmental document that contains the name and address of the voter;
5. Driver’s license or state identification card issued by another state.
6. Personal knowledge of the voter by two supervising election judges, one from each major political party, shall be acceptable voter identification upon the completion of an affidavit that is signed by both supervisory election judges and the voter that attests to the personal knowledge of the voter by the two supervisory election judges.
6. I will be out of town on Election Day. How will I vote?
If you are going to be unable to vote on Election Day due to 1) absence from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which the voter is registered to vote, 2) incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability, including primary caregivers, 3) religious belief or practice, 4) employment as an election authority, as a member of an election authority, or by an election authority at a location other than the voter’s polling place, and 5) incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained, then you are eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
The absentee voting period begins not later than the sixth Tuesday before the date of the election. All requests for an absentee ballot should be submitted by the day before the election if voting in person, or by 5:00 p.m. the Wednesday immediately before the election if requesting a ballot by mail. The election authority must receive all absentee ballots by the close of polls on Election Day in order to be counted.
You can apply for an absentee ballot in person, by mail, by fax, or a guardian or close relative (parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, grandparents, as well as these relationships through marriage) may request in person an absentee ballot for you. Each application should be made to the election authority of the jurisdiction in which you are registered.
The application needs to be in writing and needs to give the following information:
a. name;
b. voter registration address;
c. reason for voting absentee; and
d. the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, if requested; and
e. which party’s ballot is requested, if a primary election.
For more details or to answer specific questions on absentee voting, call your local election authority, the Secretary of State’s Election Division, or visit www.sos.mo.gov.
7. I received my absentee ballot by mail as I requested, but my plans have changed and I will be here on Election Day and I want to vote at my polling place. What should I do with my absentee ballot?
Contact your county clerk or board of elections for instructions.
8. Where can I see a sample ballot?
Sample ballots can be seen at the polling place or at the office of election authority. Sample ballots are also required to be printed twice prior to each election in newspapers of general circulation. Some election jurisdictions may also mail sample ballots to all registered voters in that jurisdiction.
9. Where do I vote?
You can only vote at your assigned polling place or, if there is a problem at your assigned polling place, you may be eligible to vote at the central polling place. Verifying your assigned polling place with your local election authority prior will help to eliminate potential Election Day complications.
10. What happens if I show up at my polling place on Election Day and my name is not in the poll book?
If your name does not appear on the poll book and you are eligible to vote, you may be entitled to vote a provisional ballot. Every effort will be made to determine your eligibility and your correct polling place. If it can be determined that you are at the wrong polling place, you will be directed to the correct or central polling place to cast a regular ballot.
11. When does my polling place open? When does it close?
Polling places open at 6:00 a.m. and remain open until 7:00 p.m. Those individuals arriving after the polling place has closed will not be allowed to vote. However, those individuals in line at 7:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
12. Who are my elected officials?
To find your elected officials visit www.sos.mo.gov and click on the Elections and Voters tab at the top of the screen. Then follow the link for Federal, State, and County Elected Officials.
13. How do I find out if I am registered to vote or if I am on the voter rolls in the county where I live?
You should contact the local election authority to verify your registration.
14. If I registered to vote by mail, how do I know my registration has been received and processed?
If you have not received a verification notice within seven to ten days, you should contact the local election authority to verify that your mail-in registration was received and processed.
15. I lost my voter registration card. How do I obtain a new one?
In order to obtain a new voter registration card, you should contact your local election authority.
16. Can I vote without my voter registration card?
Yes. You can vote without your voter registration card as long as you have another form of valid identification as noted in question number 5.
17. I was convicted of a felony, and have completed my probation and parole. Can I vote?
Yes. Upon completion of your sentencing and probation and parole, you can register to vote with your local election authority and be eligible to vote in elections. Individuals who have been convicted of an election offense, whether a felony or misdemeanor, are not allowed to vote.
18. I need help when I vote. What are my options?
You may bring anyone you choose to assist you with voting if you cannot read or write, are blind or have some other physical disability and cannot vote your ballot. Voters requiring assistance who do not bring a person to assist them are entitled to receive such assistance from an election judge. You must request such assistance, and upon your request, two election judges from different political parties will assist you. This is done to ensure the validity and authenticity of the vote. Depending on the number of judges present and voter turnout, there may be a wait for an election judge to assist you.
If a particular required assistance is not addressed here, please contact the local election authority to determine what specific assistance is available at each polling place.
19. How can I find out election results?
You can view election night results at www.sos.mo.gov and then by clicking on the Elections & Voter Info. tab at the top of the screen. On the Elections page click on the Election Results link to view up-to-date election results.