COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Standing Committee on Elections
This bill designates August 12th of each year as "Election Worker Appreciation Day" in Missouri.
The bill provides that, in the case of a bond election, if an election contest is not filed within 30 days after the official announcement of the election result, all conditions of state election law must be deemed to have been complied with in the issuance of the bond.
This bill allows a notice of election to be sent by email.
Notice of election must be published twice. Currently, the first notice of election must be published within two weeks of the election, and the second must be published within one week of the election. This bill requires both notices to be published within six weeks prior to the election.
Currently, jurisdictions with populations under a certain size and in which no newspaper meeting the legal requirements is published are permitted to send legal notice to voters via mail instead of publishing the notice in a newspaper. This bill allows any election authority the option to mail legal notice rather than publishing the notice in a newspaper. The mailing must occur within six weeks prior to the election. The election authority is permitted to exclude from the mailing any voter designated as inactive.
Currently, the filing time for declarations of candidacy for offices in political subdivisions or special districts not otherwise specified in law or charter is from the 17th Tuesday prior to the election through the 14th Tuesday prior to the election. This bill moves the filing time by one week, from the 16th Tuesday prior to the election to the 13th Tuesday prior to the election. The bill also provides that if the 13th Tuesday prior to the election is a State or Federal holiday, the closing filing date will be the next day that is not a State or Federal holiday.
Currently, the election authority must have automatic tabulating equipment tested within 14 days prior to an election. This bill specifies that this test must occur no later than one week prior to an election. Currently, covered voters eligible to register to vote may vote in certain elections by submitting a Federal postcard application to apply to vote at their polling place. This bill changes this requirement from the polling place to the office of the election authority on election day.
Currently, interstate former residents and new residents may vote absentee for presidential and vice presidential electors. The bill allows them to vote for those electors at the office of the election authority on election day.
This bill provides that all lists of absentee ballot applications for people with permanent disabilities will be kept confidential and must not be posted or displayed in an area open to the general public nor shown to any unauthorized person.
The bill requires any person who files as a candidate for a public office that performs county functions in the City of St. Louis to provide copies of paid receipts or no-tax-due statements for local personal and real property taxes received from the Assessor to the election authority.
The bill applies existing procedures for voters using provisional ballots to voters voting absentee in person at the office of the election authority or at another authorized location designated by the election authority.
This bill allows a provisional ballot to be cast in any public election.
The bill provides that votes for write-in candidates must be counted only for candidates who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, even if no candidate has filed for that office.
Currently, no contribution or expenditure of public funds can be made directly by any officer, employee, or agent of any political subdivision, school district, or charter school to advocate, support, or oppose the passage or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate for public office. This bill adds special districts to the list of public entities in this prohibition.
Statutes affected: