Missouri absentee voting starts today -- here's what that means (a 3-part thread):

(1) To qualify to vote absentee in MO, you must meet one of the following:
- Out of the county on Election Day;
- You are at-risk for COVID-19;
- You are incapacitated or confined due to illness or physical disability;
- Religious beliefs;
- You are an election worker;

- You are incarcerated but still eligible to vote; and/or
- You are part of MO's address confidentiality program.

Most of us will fall into one of these categories & eligibility to vote absentee has been expanded due to COVID-19.

More info here: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/howtovote#Absentee

(2) Voters who are considered at-risk for COVID-19 are:

- 65+ yrs;
- Live in a long-term care facility;
- Have chronic lung disease or asthma;
- Have serious heart conditions;
- Are immunocompromised;
- Have diabetes;
- Have chronic kidney disease; or
-Have liver disease.

Take this part seriously, you guys: if you are at-risk for COVID-19, you have 42 days to vote absentee, in-person (preferably) or by mail.

Lines during the August primaries in many parts of STL were off the charts; don't risk your health when voting early/absentee is an option!

(3) We all know that the USPS is being sabotaged with the specific intent to disrupt mail-in ballots.

This is why voting in-person, if you can do so, is going to be so crucial.

Mail-in absentee ballots cannot be trusted or relied upon to get to your election authority on time.

If mail-in ballots are your only option to vote, you MUST submit your request for a ballot to be mailed to you BEFORE Oct 21, 2020.

Missouri law allows for ANY registered voter to request a mail-in ballot, per the Sec. of State's form here: https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri/2020FillableBallotApplication-GeneralElection.pdf

Of note: mail-in ballot requests that are sent by mail must be received by the election authority no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday prior to any election.

Basically, this is a LOT of hope/expectation placed on the USPS, which is going through some sh!t right now.

tl;dr vote in person and vote as early as you can.

Our country depends on voter turnout for the November election, and even though we know there are intentional systems in place to disrupt civic engagement, we still have time to make sure every Missouri vote counts.

Adding @dubbledutched’s tweet to show the vast difference between Missouri & Illinois:

One state’s legislature frequently adds roadblocks to voting & access to polls; the other state facilitates voter registration. https://twitter.com/dubbledutched/status/1308497760828772352