UPDATE, 3:39 p.m. | Following this 41 Action News report, Ryan Zavacky was contacted by Clay County Election Board and a new ballot was overnighted to him in New York.
ORIGINAL STORY | Election officials in Clay County are encouraging voters who still have an absentee or mail-in ballot at home to come up with an alternative plan.
“I would not wait to get your ballot back to us,” Tiffany Francis, the Democrat director for the Clay County Board of Elections, said.
Ballots in Missouri for the Nov. 3 general election must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
“If you’re afraid the mail is not going to be able to get the ballot back to us and you have an absentee ballot, come to the office and vote absentee in-person,” Francis said. “If you have a mail-in ballot and you’re able to go to the polls, we’re at a point where you need to really consider going to the polls before you consider mailing that back.”
According to Francis, Clay County has sent out about 16,000 ballots and have received almost 13,000 back.
Ryan Zavacky is among the 3,000 still waiting to send his back.
The Clay County voter is currently a student in New York City and won't be in the jurisdiction on Election Day.
Clay County Board of Elections records show he submitted an absentee application Oct. 5 and one was mailed two days later, but Zavacky has never received it.
“This is the first time I have not been able to vote and I am quite upset, because I think this election is incredibly important,” Zavacky said.
According to Francis, there might be a chance the Clay County Elections Board can overnight Zavacky a ballot, which he could then overnight back, but time is running out.
“We’ve reached out to the post office again (and) they reached out to the national post office," Francis said. "We put in a ticket to try and find that ballot, and I’m waiting to hear back from the national post office to find out what that next step is because we are getting so close to Election Day now. If we can send it express overnight to him and have him send it back, that’s probably his only option for voting at this point.”
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