Voter Registration:

If you would like to register to vote in Vernon County, you may do so by completing the Missouri Voter Registration Application. You may register in person at the Vernon County Clerk's Office or one of the following locations:

• Department of Motor Vehicles

• Department of Labor

• Social Services/Health

• Armed Forces

• via Postcard

• via Federal Post Card Application (Military)

Voter Eligibility:

1. Be a U.S. Citizen

2. Be a Missouri resident

3. Be at least 17 1/2 years of age (must be 18 to vote)

4. Not be adjudged incapacitated by a court of law

5. Not be confined under a sentence of imprisonment

6. Not be on probation or parole after conviction of a felony, until finally discharged

7. Not have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage

Absentee Voting:

Missourians who are not able to go to their polling place on Election Day may vote absentee beginning six weeks prior to an election.

Absentee voters must provide one of the following reasons for voting absentee:

• Absence on Election Day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote;

• Incapacity or 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;

• Religious belief or practice;

• Employment as an election authority, as a member of an election authority, or by an election authority at a location other than such voter's polling place;

• Incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained.

Voters can request absentee ballots from the County Clerk's Office in person, by mail or by fax, 100 W Cherry, Ste. 6, Nevada, MO 64772. Relatives within the first degree (parents and children) may complete an absentee ballot application, in person, on behalf of the voter who wishes to vote absentee.

Mail in or faxed absentee ballot requests must be received by the County Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to any election. Voters can vote by absentee in the Clerk’s Office until 5:00 p.m. the night preceding the election.

If you have registered to vote by mail and are voting absentee the first time, you must provide a copy of your identification with your absentee ballot request unless you provided a copy with your voter registration application. Examples of identification are:

• Identification issued by the state of Missouri, an agency of the state, or a local election authority of the state;

• Identification issued by the U.S. government or agency thereof;

• Identification issued by a Missouri institution of higher education, including a university, college, vocational and technical school;

• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that contains the name and address of the voter; or

• Driver's license or state identification card issued by another state.

This identification requirement, as well as the notary requirement for absentee ballots, does not apply to overseas voters, those on active military duty or members of their immediate family living with them or voters who are declared permanently disabled.

If you have any questions, you may call the County Clerk's Office at (417) 448-2500.