HB1878--ELECTIONS
SPONSOR: Simmons
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPass"bytheStandingCommitteeon
ElectionsandElectedOfficialsbyavoteof8to4.
Thisbillmodifieselectionlaws.Initsmainprovisionsthebill:
(1)Requirespersonsvotinginpersonbyuseofanabsenteeballot
toestablishtheiridentityunderSection115.427,RSMo;
(2)Allowsvoterswithoutpersonalidentification atapolling
placetovoteaprovisionalballotwhichwillbecountedbasedupon
acertificationprocessandthereturnofdocumentationorbya
signatureverificationprocessconductedbytheelectionauthority;
and
(3)Repealscertainaffidavitandnoticerequirementsunder
Section115.427.
ThisbillisthesameasHB334(2021).
PROPONENTS: Supporterssaythatthebillwillrepealproblematic
affidavitsectionsheldunconstitutional bytheMissouriSupreme
Courtandotherwisemodifyphotographicidentification requirements
inareasonablemanner.Inpersonabsenteevotingwillrequirethe
useofsuchidentification. Theprovisionalballotexceptionsto
thephotographicidentification requirementwillremaininplace
andsoproperlyregisteredvotersmayvotebyprovisionalballotif
theylackphotographicidentification atthepollingplace.
Manyempiricalstudiesshowthatvoterturnoutisnoteffectedat
allbyidentification requirements. TheMissouriSecretaryof
State'sofficehasaperfecttrackrecordofhelpingall
individualsacquirephotographicidentification andwillpayfor
thenecessarydocuments. AllofEuropemakesuseofphotographic
identification forvotingandmanystatesalsorequire
identification. Itisagoodpracticetopreventorreduceany
kindofvoterfraud.
TestifyingforthebillwereRepresentative Simmons;AlannaAhern;
AmandaHickenbottom-Conner;AmberHorton;AndrewKruse;Angela
Good;AnnYoung;AshleyTwellman;BeckyWoods;BevEhlen;Blair
Porter;BrandonWilliams;BrendaSHoofer;BrianBinkley;BrianD
Barbagallo;BrittneyManier;CalebRust;Carol;CarolLittmann;
CarolOrphan;CarolineRuthMueller;CarrieFarrow;CarrieFarrow;
CarrieFarrow;CharlesBDefarkas;Cheryl;ChristineLewis;Christy
DShelton;ColetteKingston;CynthiaL.Jones;CynthiaMueller Rice;DanielleVancil;DarynRoss;DavidNorris;DawnCox;Debra
Nugent;DedraJGalyon;DianeMathias;DianeUnger,RN;DonGrimm;
ElizabethAKoerber;ElizabethAnnePetersen;Erin;FriedaKeough;
GaryBrown;HeatherBeem;HeatherKruse;HeatherLeone-Wilson;
HeatherR.Herbold;HughMackenzie;JaimeCheaney;JamesL.Pelis;
JamesSelesnick;JamieMcLain;JanetHennessey;JaniceSimons;Jeff
Schieber;JenniferBoren;JenniferHull;JenniferNolen;Jennifer
Spencer;JessicaForst;JessicaGrimm;JimConrady;JimmieJ.Rice;
JohannaBeaudean;JoshuaLehman;JudithMoorefield;JudySofka;
JudySofka,MissouriPrecinctProject/MOPP;JuliaJansma;Julie
Duncan;JustinSavage;JustinSavage;KarenLBriggs;KarenLevy;
KarenMelendy;KarinWashington;KateStratton;KathleenLee;
KathrynHammen;KathrynSSchoeck;KatieLevy;KatieLyczak;Kelly
Hooker;KimPenrod;KimberlyD.Fritsche;KristineWarner;Kristine
Warner;LauraFeldmann;LauraSmith-Defarkas;LaurenHawse;Laurie
Nicewaner;LindaConrady;LindaObrecht;LindaWaddell;Lisa
Williford;LoraYoung;Lori;LoriBourgeois;MargDeibel;Marjorie
Stoeker;MarkVoetter;MarlaFastenau;MarshaKing;MattBourgeois;
MatthewBourgeois;MeganMackenzie;MelissaJames;MichaelHartman;
MichaelHilbert;MichelleBrandt;MichelleFlieg;Michelle
Selesnick;MirandaTasker;MonaJohnston;NadineVarga;Nancy
Griffith;NathanBillings;NickSnyder;PamelaHeyen;Pamela
Wirick;PatriciaAHilbert;PatriciaWhite;PatriciaWischmann;
PatrickMiller;PaulaA.Harvey;PaulaHardin;PaulaJuelich;
RachelBourgeois;RachelBourgeois;RandyBlaneTaylor;Rebecca
Porter;RebekahRoberts;RobArnone;RobbynKempf;RobertBourgeois
Jr;RonJoecks;SaraGuthrie;SarahReeves;ShaunaBrandt;Shauna
Poggio;ShawnKaiser;ShawnKaiser;SheilaAKeating;Shelly
Graves;SophiaBourgeois;SusanBosse;SusanStonecipher;Susanne
Boehm;SusanneBoehm;TaraGarcia;TeresaSimpson;ThomasRice;Tom
Latham;TomWaddell;TracyDougan;TriciaLavin;TroyMayfield;
ValerieSwearingen;VickiDunn;WendyA.Wisniewski;WendyC.
Melrose;WilmaRademaker;ZacharySmith;OpportunitySolutions
Project;andTrishVincent,SecretaryOfState.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythattheyareopposedto
anyregulationthatmakesvotingmoredifficult. Therehavebeen
nocasesofvoterimpersonationfraudsinceapproximately2006.
TheMissouriSecretaryofStateshouldberequiredtoprovide
noticeofphotographicidentification requirementsandtheremoval
ofnoticerequirementsisabadbargaindesignedtoreducethecost
ofthelegislation. Thesignaturematchingprocessforprovisional
ballotsisunreliableandnotobjective. Olderindividualsoften
lackbothidentification anddocumentsanditcantakealongtime
tocorrectsuchissues.
TheMissouriSupremeCourthasindicatedthatallowingonly
governmentissuedphotographicidentification forvotingis
unconstitutional. A2016Constitutional amendmentdoesnot explicitlyauthorizeonlytheuseofphotographicidentification,
andthislegislationisstillsubjecttoConstitutional challenges
instatecourt.
TestifyingagainstthebillwereAbigailPankau;AlbertaMobley;
ConnieFlachs;DeborahJKitchen;DennisandBarbaraGaylor;
FrancineGlass;GettaR.Hall;JoanGentry;RabbiScottShafrin;
SusanGibson;SusanLammert;ValerieLarm;ArleneZarembka,
Momentum:MissouriMovingForward;ArnieC.AcDienoff;Jewish
CommunityRelationsCouncil;DeborahBergfeld;DebraCoe;Don
Crozier;Dr.LisaGroshong;KathleenMcGinnis;LeonaBoc,;Linda
Brunner;LindaRezny;MelissaVatterott,MissouriCoalitionForThe
Environment;MikkailaPoulin;MissouriNEA;RonyaMcCool;Tori
Schafer,AmericanCivilLibertiesUnionofMissouri;Denise
Lieberman,MissouriVoterProtectionCoalition;MissouriAFL-CIO;
NancyPrice;AmyReed;BrigitteSheridan;MarissaPolzin;AARP;Mo
StateConferenceofNAACP;andPROMO.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonycanbefoundunderTestimonyonthebillpageon
theHousewebsite.