HOUSE BILL NO. 1957 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE BOSLEY.
4872H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 115.133, 115.155, 115.247, 115.281, 115.287, and 561.026, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof six new sections relating to elections.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 115.133, 115.155, 115.247, 115.281, 115.287, and 561.026, 2 RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 3 115.133, 115.155, 115.247, 115.281, 115.287, and 561.026, to read as follows: 115.133. 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, any citizen of the 2 United States who is a resident of the state of Missouri and seventeen years and six months of 3 age or older shall be entitled to register and to vote in any election which is held on or after 4 his or her eighteenth birthday. 5 2. No person who is adjudged incapacitated shall be entitled to register or vote. No 6 person shall be entitled to vote: 7 (1) While confined under a sentence of imprisonment after conviction of a felony; 8 or 9 (2) [While on probation or parole after conviction of a felony, until finally discharged 10 from such probation or parole; or 11 (3)] After conviction of a felony [or misdemeanor] connected with the right of 12 suffrage. 13 3. Except as provided in federal law or federal elections and in section 115.277, no 14 person shall be entitled to vote if the person has not registered to vote in the jurisdiction of his 15 or her residence prior to the deadline to register to vote.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1957 2
16 4. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any defendant who is otherwise eligible 17 to vote and is confined in a jail from voting in an election if he or she has not yet been 18 convicted of a crime. 115.155. 1. The election authority shall provide for the registration of each voter. 2 Voter registration applications shall be made available in English, Spanish, and Braille. 3 Each application shall be in substantially the following form: 4 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION 5 Are you a citizen of the United States? 6 ☐ YES ☐ NO 7 Will you be 18 years of age on or before election day? 8 ☐ YES ☐ NO 9 IF YOU CHECKED "NO" IN RESPONSE TO EITHER OF THESE 10 QUESTIONS, DO NOT COMPLETE THIS FORM. 11 IF YOU ARE SUBMITTING THIS FORM BY MAIL AND ARE 12 REGISTERING FOR THE FIRST TIME, PLEASE SUBMIT A COPY 13 OF A CURRENT, VALID PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. IF YOU DO 14 NOT SUBMIT SUCH INFORMATION, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED 15 TO PRESENT ADDITIONAL IDENTIFICATION UPON VOTING 16 FOR THE FIRST TIME SUCH AS A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, A 17 NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBAL DOCUMENT, OTHER PROOF OF 18 UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP, A VALID MISSOURI DRIVER'S 19 LICENSE OR OTHER FORM OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION. 20 _________ 21 _________ 22 Township 23 (or Ward) 24 _________ 25 __________________ _________ 26 Name Precinct 27 _________ 28 __________________ _________ 29 Home Address Required 30 Personal 31 Identifica 32 tion 33 Information 34 __________________ HB 1957 3
35 City ZIP 36 _________ 37 __________________ _________ 38 Place of 39 Date of Birth Birth 40 (Optional) 41 _________ 42 __________________ _________ 43 Mother's 44 Telephone Number Maiden 45 Name 46 (Optional) (Optional) 47 _________ 48 __________________ _________ 49 Last Place 50 Occupation (Optional) Previously 51 Registered 52 _________ 53 __________________ _________ 54 Last four digits of Social Under 55 Security Number What 56 (Required for registration Name 57 unless no Social Security 58 Number exists for Applicant)
59 _________ 60 Remarks: _________ 61 When 62 Political Party Affiliation 63 (OPTIONAL: You 64 shall be unaffiliated 65 unless you 66 designate an 67 affiliation.) 68 I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state of 69 Missouri. I have not been adjudged incapacitated by any court of law. HB 1957 4
70 If I have been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor connected 71 with the right of suffrage, I have had the voting disabilities resulting 72 from such conviction removed pursuant to law. I do solemnly swear 73 that all statements made on this card are true to the best of my 74 knowledge and belief. 75 I UNDERSTAND THAT IF I REGISTER TO VOTE KNOWING 76 THAT I AM NOT LEGALLY ENTITLED TO REGISTER, I AM 77 COMMITTING A CLASS ONE ELECTION OFFENSE AND MAY 78 BE PUNISHED BY IMPRISONMENT OF NOT MORE THAN FIVE 79 YEARS OR BY A FINE OF BETWEEN TWO THOUSAND FIVE 80 HUNDRED DOLLARS AND TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS OR BY 81 BOTH SUCH IMPRISONMENT AND FINE. 82 _________ 83 __________________ _________ 84 Signature of Voter Date 85 __________________ 86 Signature of Election Official 87 2. The options for political party affiliation required by the application described in 88 subsection 1 of this section shall include all established political parties and an option to be 89 unaffiliated. If an applicant does not designate an affiliation, the election authority shall mark 90 the applicant's form as unaffiliated. 91 3. After supplying all information necessary for the registration records, each 92 applicant who appears in person before the election authority shall swear or affirm the 93 statements on the registration application by signing his or her full name, witnessed by the 94 signature of the election authority or such authority's deputy registration official. Each 95 applicant who applies to register by mail pursuant to section 115.159, or pursuant to section 96 115.160 or 115.162, shall attest to the statements on the application by his or her signature. 97 4. Upon receipt by mail of a completed and signed voter registration application, a 98 voter registration application forwarded by the division of motor vehicle and drivers licensing 99 of the department of revenue pursuant to section 115.160, or a voter registration agency 100 pursuant to section 115.162, the election authority shall, if satisfied that the applicant is 101 entitled to register, transfer all data necessary for the registration records from the application 102 to its registration system. Within seven business days after receiving the application, the 103 election authority shall send the applicant a verification notice. If such notice is returned as 104 undeliverable by the postal service within the time established by the election authority, the 105 election authority shall not place the applicant's name on the voter registration file. HB 1957 5
106 5. If, upon receipt by mail of a voter registration application or a voter registration 107 application forwarded pursuant to section 115.160 or 115.162, the election authority 108 determines that the applicant is not entitled to register, such authority shall, within seven 109 business days after receiving the application, so notify the applicant by mail and state the 110 reason such authority has determined the applicant is not qualified. The applicant may file a 111 complaint with the elections division of the secretary of state's office under and pursuant to 112 section 115.219. If an applicant for voter registration fails to answer the question on the 113 application concerning United States citizenship, the election authority shall notify the 114 applicant of the failure and provide the applicant with an opportunity to complete the form in 115 a timely manner to allow for the completion of the registration form before the next election. 116 6. The secretary of state shall prescribe specifications for voter registration 117 documents so that they are uniform throughout the state of Missouri and comply with the 118 National Voter Registration Act of 1993, including the reporting requirements, and so that 119 registrations, name changes and transfers of registrations within the state may take place as 120 allowed by law. 121 7. All voter registration applications shall be preserved in the office of the election 122 authority. 115.247. 1. Each election authority shall provide all ballots for every election within 2 its jurisdiction. Ballots other than those printed by the election authority in accordance with 3 the provisions of this chapter shall not be cast or counted at any election. 4 2. Whenever it appears that an error has occurred in any publication required by the 5 provisions of this chapter, or in the printing of any ballot, any circuit court may, upon the 6 application of any voter, order the appropriate election authorities to correct the error or to 7 show cause why the error should not be corrected. 8 3. For each election held in a county with a charter form of government and with 9 more than two hundred fifty thousand but fewer than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, 10 the election authority may provide for each polling place in its jurisdiction fifty-five ballots 11 for each fifty and fraction of fifty voters registered in the voting district at the time of the 12 election. For each election, except a general election, held in any county other than a county 13 with a charter form of government and with more than two hundred fifty thousand but fewer 14 than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, the election authority shall provide for each 15 polling place in its jurisdiction a number of ballots equal to at least one and one-third times 16 the number of ballots cast in the voting district served by such polling place at the election 17 held two years before at that polling place or at the polling place that served the voting district 18 in the previous election. For each general election held in any county other than a county 19 with a charter form of government and with more than two hundred fifty thousand but fewer 20 than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, the election authority shall provide for each HB 1957 6
21 polling place in its jurisdiction a number of ballots equal to one and one-third times the 22 number of ballots cast in the voting district served by such polling place or at the polling 23 place that served the voting district in the general election held four years prior. When 24 determining the number of ballots to provide for each polling place, the election authority 25 shall consider any factors that would affect the turnout at such polling place. The election 26 authority shall keep a record of the exact number of ballots delivered to each polling place. 27 For purposes of this subsection, the election authority shall not be required to count registered 28 voters designated as inactive pursuant to section 115.193. 29 4. After the polls have closed on every election day, the election judges shall return all 30 unused ballots to the election authority with the other election supplies. 31 5. All ballots cast in public elections shall be printed and distributed at public 32 expense, payable as provided in sections 115.063 to 115.077. 33 6. The election authority shall emboss and make available upon request ballots 34 in Braille for use by voters who are visually impaired. 115.281. 1. Except as provided in section 115.914, not later than the sixth Tuesday 2 prior to each election, or within fourteen days after candidates' names or questions are 3 certified pursuant to section 115.125, the election authority shall cause to have printed and 4 made available a sufficient quantity of absentee ballots, ballot envelopes and mailing 5 envelopes. As soon as possible after the proper officer calls a special state or county election, 6 the election authority shall cause to have printed and made available a sufficient quantity of 7 absentee ballots, ballot envelopes and mailing envelopes. 8 2. All absentee ballots for an election shall be in the same form as the official ballots 9 for the election, including ballots in Braille as required in section 115.247. 115.287. 1. Upon receipt of a signed application for an absentee ballot and if satisfied 2 the applicant is entitled to vote by absentee ballot, the election authority shall, within three 3 working days after receiving the application, or if absentee ballots are not available at the 4 time the application is received, within five working days after they become available, deliver 5 to the voter an absentee ballot, ballot envelope and such instructions as are necessary for the 6 applicant to vote. Delivery shall be made to the voter personally in the office of the election 7 authority or by bipartisan teams appointed by the election authority, or by first class, 8 registered, or certified mail at the discretion of the election authority, or in the case of a 9 covered voter as defined in section 115.902, the method of transmission prescribed in section 10 115.914. Where the election authority is a county clerk, the members of bipartisan teams 11 representing the political party other than that of county clerk shall be selected from a list of 12 persons submitted to the county clerk by the county chairman of that party. If no list is 13 provided by the time that absentee ballots are to be made available, the county clerk may 14 select a person or persons from lists provided in accordance with section 115.087. If the HB 1957 7
15 election authority is not satisfied that any applicant is entitled to vote by absentee ballot, it 16 shall not deliver an absentee ballot to the applicant. Within three working days of receiving 17 such an application, the election authority shall notify the applicant and state the reason he or 18 she is not entitled to vote by absentee ballot. The applicant may file a complaint with the 19 elections division of the secretary of state's office under and pursuant to section 115.219. 20 2. If, after 5:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday before an election, any voter from the 21 jurisdiction is confined in a jail, has become hospitalized, becomes confined due to illness or 22 injury, or is confined in an intermediate care facility, residential care facility, or skilled 23 nursing facility on election day, as such terms are defined in section 198.006, in the county in 24 which the jurisdiction is located or in the jurisdiction of an adjacent election authority within 25 the same county, the election authority shall appoint a team to deliver, witness the signing of 26 and return the voter's application and deliver, witness the voting of and return the voter's 27 absentee ballot. If the election authority receives ten or more applications for absentee ballots 28 from the same address it shall appoint a team to deliver and witness the voting and return of 29 absentee ballots by voters residing at that address, except when such addresses are for an 30 apartment building or other structure wherein individual living units are located, each of 31 which has its own separate cooking facilities. Each team appointed pursuant to this 32 subsection shall consist of two registered voters, one from each major political party. Both 33 members of any team appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be present during the 34 delivery, signing or voting and return of any application or absentee ballot signed or voted 35 pursuant to this subsection. 36 3. On the mailing and ballot envelopes for each covered voter, the election authority 37 shall stamp prominently in black the words "FEDERAL BALLOT, STATE OF MISSOURI" 38 and "U.S. Postage Paid, 39 U.S.C. Section 3406". 39 4. No information which encourages a vote for or against a candidate or issue shall be 40 provided to any voter with an absentee ballot. 561.026. Notwithstanding any other provision of law except for section 610.140, a 2 person who is convicted: 3 (1) Of [any offense] a felony shall