A voter registration canvass is performed every other year by the Atchison County Clerk’s office, with a voter identification card mailed to each registered voter in the county.

If all information is correct on the voter identification card received, no action is required on behalf of the voter.

Voter identification cards are not forwardable, so if the addressee no longer resides at the address on the card, it is to be returned to the County Clerk’s office. A returned card is their first alert that a voter no longer resides where they initially registered. Often, voters forget to update their voter registration record when they move, so this canvass is one tool the clerk’s office uses to ensure their records are up to date. Other resources utilized include reports provided by the Missouri Department of Health and Social Services, Missouri Department of Corrections, and the Atchison County Circuit Clerk.

When undeliverable voter identification cards are returned to the County Clerk’s office, a residence confirmation notice (RCN) is prepared. Unlike the initial voter identification card, the second mailing is forwardable, and can be delivered to the voter at an address other than what is listed on their voter record. The RCN provides voters a chance to update their address, which must be done at the request of the voter with their signature. If the RCN is not returned, the voter’s status is made inactive. Once a voter has remained inactive – not completing address updates, voting, or signing petitions – through two federal election cycles, the voter is removed from the election rolls.

Voters needing to update their voter registration information may do so by completing the back side of the voter identification card and returning it to the County Clerk’s office or online through the Secretary of State’s office, www.sos.mo.gov.

Anyone not receiving a voter identification card in the next two weeks is encouraged to contact the County Clerk’s office at 660-744-6214, option 3.

For voters who have not previously registered to vote in Atchison County, registration applications can be obtained in the County Clerk’s office or found online through the Secretary of State’s office, www.sos.mo.gov. Voters are encouraged to doublecheck their information before submitting it. Voters’ credentials are cross-checked across various state agencies such as Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, Department of Health and Social Services, and Department of Corrections, to help verify their identity. If any of the fields are left blank or numbers are transposed, that could delay the record from being processed. The deadline for new residents to register to vote is always the fourth Wednesday prior to an election.