According to Atchison County Clerk Susette Taylor, Atchison County currently has 3,453 registered voters. With four elections on the calendar this year, it is important for citizens to be registered to vote. There are various ways one may register in Atchison County. You may register at the County Clerk’s office in the courthouse in Rock Port, Missouri, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The License Bureau in Rock Port will register voters at the time you apply for or renew your licenses, at Family Services in Rock Port, at your local city hall with your city clerk, or you may also register online at sos.mo.gov. Registration itself is a very simple process. You will be asked for a photo ID, date of birth, last four digits of your social security number, and proof of your current address. All of this information is generally available on your Missouri driver’s license, providing it shows your current address of residency. If your license is out of state or has a different address, you must provide a utility bill or piece of mail showing your current address. At the time of registration, you will be provided a voter ID card.

Your voter ID card will show your polling location where you will vote on election day. Voters within the Rock Port area will vote at the Velma Houts Building. Tarkio voters will vote at the Farmers State Bank. Fairfax voters will vote at Fairfax City Hall. Westboro voters will vote at the Westboro Fire Station/Community Building and Watson voters will cast their ballots at the Watson Community Building.

Election dates on the calendar for the year 2020 are as follows: Presidential Primary Election is March 10, 2020; the Municipal Election is April 7, 2020; the Primary Election is August 4, 2020; and the General Election is November 3, 2020. Each election has a registration deadline in which one must register to vote. The deadline for the Presidential Primary Election is February 12; the Municipal Election is March 11; the Primary election is July 8 and the General Election is October 7. If you are not registered by the deadline for each election you will not be able to vote in that election.

Atchison County is currently conducting their canvas, and all registered voters should have just recently received a new voter registration card. This is the time to update any name and address changes, so please look at your new card. If you need to make changes just do so on the back of the card and return it to the County Clerk’s office and a new card will be sent upon making the changes.

If you will be absent from the county on Election Day, you may vote absentee at the courthouse or request an absentee ballot be mailed to you. Either you or a relative in the first degree must sign an absentee request form for a ballot to be mailed, and it is imperative that a request include the political party preference for the ballot they wish to vote. If a ballot is mailed to you, then you are required to have your signature notarized before returning the ballot to the clerk’s office. Absentee voting for the March 10 Presidential Primary begins on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

Atchison County does offer curbside voting for any voter who in unable to walk into the polling location. Exceptions for military and permanently disabled voters can be obtained by calling the clerk’s office at the number below. On Election Day voters are required to bring their voter ID card or a form of identifications with them to the polls to be able to vote. If you would like to serve as an election judge or assist on Election Day and are not currently on the list maintained in the clerk’s office, please call the clerk’s office at 660-744-6214 and a form will be mailed to you to complete.

Atchison County Clerk Susette Taylor commented, “We are always looking for new judges and would welcome you to our election team. We have several opportunities for you to serve or assist with the Election process. Although I have an amazing group of dedicated election judges, with this being a busy election year, there may be times they are unable to work and those positions are easier to fill if I have a list of individuals willing to assist. A training day will be held in the very near future, so anyone who has never worked an election can have the opportunity to see what is involved.”

If you have any further questions, please feel free to call the Atchison County Clerk’s Office at 660-744-6214.