President Donald Trump issued an executive order Tuesday changing how mail-in votes are processed. The United States Postal Service will cross-reference mail-in ballots with a list of eligible U.S. citizens and reject any not in its system, according to the White House's release.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said absentee ballots mailed in by Missouri voters won't be rejected because the state doesn't have mail-in voting as defined in the order. Missouri voters can cast absentee ballots in-person before an election or apply to mail them in.
"Trying to create one process in a decentralized elections environment is nearly impossible," Lennon said. "So, while we're seeing these kind of proposals come down, it's not really clear at all how any of them are going to affect anybody in Boone County."
For April's municipal election, Lennon said about 500 people in Boone County have cast absentee ballots.
"Our overall proportion of voters that are using mail in ballots to vote is pretty small just to begin with," Lennon said.
According to the executive order, its intention is to improve election integrity via the USPS and enforcement of federal law prohibiting non-citizens from voting. Lennon said the absentee mail-in ballot process in Missouri is already restrictive, requiring voters to meet specific criteria during the election for their mail-in application to be approved.
"We make sure that our voter registration lists are updated in real time on election day," Lennon said. "It's exceedingly rare for somebody to try to take advantage of the situation, and even more rare for them to succeed without getting caught."
To cast an absentee ballot over mail for the Missouri 2026 mid-term primaries, eligible voters must apply by Wednesday, July 22nd at 5 pm.
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