HOUSE BILL NO. 3227 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PERKINS.
6849H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 115.158 and 115.160, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to voter registration.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 115.158 and 115.160, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections 2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 115.158 and 115.160, to read as follows: 115.158. 1. The secretary of state shall implement a centralized, interactive 2 computerized statewide voter registration list. This computerized list shall be known as the 3 "Missouri Voter Registration System". The system shall be implemented by January 1, 2004, 4 unless a waiver is obtained pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002. If a waiver is 5 obtained, the system shall be implemented by January 1, 2006. The system shall be 6 maintained and administered by the secretary of state and contain the name and registration 7 information of every legally registered voter in Missouri. In addition, the system shall: 8 (1) Assign a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in Missouri; 9 (2) Serve as the single system for storing and managing the official list of registered 10 voters throughout Missouri; 11 (3) Be coordinated with other agency databases in Missouri; 12 (4) Allow any election official in Missouri, including local election authorities, 13 immediate electronic access to the information contained in the system; 14 (5) Allow all voter registration information obtained by any local election official in 15 Missouri to be electronically entered into the system on an expedited basis at the time the 16 information is provided to the local official. The secretary of state, as the chief state election
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 3227 2
17 official, shall provide such support as may be required so that local election officials are able 18 to enter the registration information; and 19 (6) Serve as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections in 20 Missouri. 21 2. The secretary of state and local election authorities shall perform system 22 maintenance on a regular basis, which shall include: 23 (1) Removing names in accordance with the provisions and procedures of the 24 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and coordinating system maintenance activities with 25 state agency records on death and felony status; 26 (2) Requiring the name of each registered voter to appear in the system; 27 (3) Removing only voters who are not registered or who are not eligible to vote; and 28 (4) Eliminating duplicate names from the system. 29 3. The secretary of state shall provide adequate technological security measures to 30 prevent the unauthorized access to the system established pursuant to this section. 31 4. The secretary of state shall develop procedures to ensure that voter registration 32 records within the system are accurate and updated regularly. At a minimum, the procedures 33 shall include: 34 (1) A system of file maintenance that makes a reasonable effort to remove registrants 35 who are ineligible to vote. Consistent with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 36 registrants who have not responded to a notice and who have not voted in two consecutive 37 general elections for federal office shall be removed from the official list of eligible voters, 38 except that no registrant may be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote; and 39 (2) Safeguards to ensure that eligible voters are not removed in error. 40 5. Voter registration information shall be verified in accordance with the Help 41 America Vote Act of 2002. 42 (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, an application for voter 43 registration may not be accepted or processed unless the application includes: 44 (a) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current and valid driver's license, 45 the applicant's driver's license number; or 46 (b) In the case of any other applicant, other than an applicant to whom subdivision (2) 47 applies, the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security number. 48 (2) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued a current and valid 49 driver's license or a Social Security number, the applicant shall be assigned a number which 50 will serve to identify the applicant for voter registration purposes. The number assigned 51 under this subdivision shall be used as the unique identifying number within the system. 52 (3) The secretary of state and the director of the department of revenue shall enter into 53 an agreement to match information in the database of the voter registration system with HB 3227 3
54 information in the database of the motor vehicle system, which shall include information 55 pertaining to the citizenship status of those within the department of revenue's database, 56 to enable the secretary to verify the accuracy of information provided on applications for 57 voter registration. 58 (4) The director of the department of revenue shall enter into an agreement with the 59 commissioner of Social Security and comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 60 6. In addition to using the system for voter registration, the election authorities and 61 secretary of state may use the system for the collection and dissemination of election results 62 and other pertinent information. Any information contained in any state or local voter 63 registration system, limited to the master voter registration list or any other list generated 64 from the information, subject to chapter 610, shall not be used for commercial purposes; 65 provided, however, that the information may be used for elections, for candidates, or for 66 ballot measures, furnished at a reasonable fee. Violation of this section shall be a class B 67 misdemeanor. For purposes of this section, "commercial purposes" means the use of a public 68 record for the purpose of sale or resale or for the purpose of producing a document containing 69 all or part of the copy, printout, or photograph for sale or the obtaining of names and 70 addresses from public records for the purpose of solicitation or the sale of names and 71 addresses to another for the purpose of solicitation or for any purpose in which the purchaser 72 can reasonably anticipate the receipt of monetary gain from the direct or indirect use of the 73 public record. 74 7. The secretary of state shall establish an advisory committee to assist in the 75 establishment and maintenance of the Missouri voter registration system. 76 8. The secretary of state may promulgate rules to execute this section. No rule or 77 portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective 78 unless it has been promulgated pursuant to chapter 536. 79 9. Election authorities and any agency required under the National Voter Registration 80 Act of 1993 to accept voter registration applications shall forward registration and other data 81 in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state to assist with administering and maintaining 82 the Missouri voter registration system in accordance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 115.160. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all Missouri driver's 2 license applicants shall receive a voter registration application form as a simultaneous part of 3 the application for a driver's license, renewal of driver's license, change of address, duplicate 4 request and a nondriver's license. 5 2. If a single application form is used, the voter registration application portion of any 6 application described in subsection 1 of this section may not require any information that 7 duplicates information required in the driver's license portion of the form, except a second 8 signature or other information required by law. HB 3227 4
9 3. After conferring with the secretary of state as the chief state election official 10 responsible for overseeing of the voter registration process, the director of revenue shall adopt 11 rules and regulations pertaining to the format of the voter registration application used by the 12 department. The director of revenue shall utilize electronic voter registration application 13 forms and provide for secure electronic transfer of voter registration information to election 14 authorities. The secretary of state and the director of revenue shall ensure the confidentiality 15 and integrity of the voter registration data collected, maintained, received, or transmitted 16 under this section. 17 4. No information relating to the failure of an applicant for a driver's license or 18 nondriver's license to sign a voter registration application may be used for any purpose other 19 than voter registration. 20 5. Any voter registration application received pursuant to the provisions of this 21 section shall be forwarded, in a secure and electronic manner, to the election authority located 22 within that county or any city not within a county, or if there is more than one election 23 authority within the county, then to the election authority located nearest to the location where 24 the driver's license application was received. Voter registration information, including an 25 electronic image of the signature of the applicant, shall be transmitted in a format compatible 26 with the Missouri voter registration system established in section 115.158 which allows for 27 review by the election authority and does not require the election authority to manually 28 reenter the information[, provided that the election authority shall print out a paper copy of 29 the information and retain such information in the manner required by section 115.145]. The 30 election authority receiving the application forms shall review the applications and forward, 31 in a secure and electronic manner, any applications pertaining to a different election authority 32 to that election authority. 33 6. A completed voter registration application accepted in the driver's licensing 34 process shall be transmitted to the election authority described in subsection 5 of this section 35 not later than three business days after the form is completed by the applicant. 36 7. Any person registering to vote when applying for or renewing a Missouri driver's 37 license shall submit with the application form a copy of a birth certificate, a Native American 38 tribal document, or other proof of United States citizenship, a valid Missouri driver's license, 39 or other form of personal identification. Any person who, at the time of a transaction with the 40 division of motor vehicle and driver licensing of the department of revenue, provides a 41 document that establishes noncitizenship and does not provide an appropriate document 42 that otherwise establishes citizenship shall not be offered the opportunity to register to vote 43 as part of the transaction. The division shall only provide an opportunity to register to 44 vote to a person who provides documentation demonstrating that the individual is a 45 citizen of the United States. HB 3227 5
46 8. The secretary of state and the director of revenue shall jointly develop a 47 process by which the division of motor vehicle and drivers licensing of the department of 48 revenue, upon obtaining as part of a license transaction a person’s full name, date of 49 birth, driver’s license or state identification number, residence address, and mailing 50 address if different from residence address, may use information from the statewide 51 voter registration database to determine whether the person is already registered to vote 52 in the state and, if so, whether the person is registered at the address and under the 53 name the person provided to the division of motor vehicle and drivers licensing of the 54 department of revenue. ✔
Statutes affected: