Modifies provisions relating to elections

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1957
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE BOSLEY .
4872H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal sections 1 15.133, 1 15.155, 1 15.247, 1 15.281, 1 15.287, 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 1 15.133, 1 15.155, 1 15.247, 1 15.281, 1 15.287, and 561.026,
2 RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections
3 1 15.133, 1 15.155, 1 15.247, 1 15.281, 1 15.287, and 561.026, to read as follows:
1 15.133. 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 dischar ged
10 from such probation or parole; or
11 (3) ] After conviction of a felony [ or misdemeanor ] connected with the right of
12 suf frage.
13 3. Except as provided in federal law or federal elections and in section 1 15.277, 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.
EXPLANA TION — 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.
16 4. Nothing in this section shall pr ohibit any defendant who is otherwise eligible
17 to vote and is confined in a jail fr om voting in an election if he or she has not yet been
18 convicted of a crime.
1 15.155. 1. The election authority shall provide for the registration of each voter .
2 V oter reg istration applications shall be made available in English, Spanish, and Braille.
3 Each application shall be in substantially the following form:
4 APPLICA TION FOR REGISTRA TION
5 Are you a citizen of the United States?
6  YES  NO
7 W ill you be 18 years of age on or before election day?
8  YES  NO
9 IF YOU CHECKED "NO" IN RESPONSE T O 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 , V ALID PHOT O IDENTIFICA TION. IF YOU DO
14 NOT SUBMIT SUCH INFORMA TION, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED
15 T O PRESENT ADDITIONAL IDENTIFICA TION UPON VOTING
16 FOR THE FIRST TIME SUCH AS A BIR TH CER TIFICA TE, A
17 NA TIVE AMERICAN TRIBAL DOCUMENT , OTHER PROOF OF
18 UNITED ST A TES CITIZENSHIP , A V ALID MISSOURI DRIVER'S
19 LICENSE OR OTHER FORM OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICA TION.
20 _________
21 _________
22 T ownship
23 (or W ard)
__________________
24 _________
25 _________
26 Name Precinct
__________________
27 _________
28 _________
Home Address29 Required
30 Personal
31 Identifica -
32 tion
33 Information
34 __________________
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35 City ZIP
__________________
36 _________
37 _________
Date of Birth
38 Place of
39 Birth
40 (Optional)
__________________
41 _________
42 _________
T elephone Number
43 Mother's
44 Maiden
(Optional)
45 Name
46 (Optional)
__________________
47 _________
48 _________
Occupation (Optional)
49 Last Place
50 Previously
51 Registered
__________________
52 _________
53 _________
54 Last four digits of Social
55 Security Number
56 (Required for registration
57 unless no Social Security
58 Number exists for Applicant)
Under
What
Name
Remarks:
59 _________
60 _________
61 When
62 Political Party Af filiation
63 (OPTIONAL: Y ou
64 shall be unaf filiated
65 unless you
66 designate an
67 af filiation.)
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 .
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70 If I have been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor connected
71 with the right of suff rage, 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 UNDERST AND THA T IF I REGISTER T O VOTE KNOWING
76 THA T I AM NOT LEGALL Y ENTITLED T O REGISTER, I AM
77 COMMITTING A CLASS ONE ELECTION OFFENSE AND MA Y
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 V oter Date
85 __________________
86 Signature of Election Of ficial
87 2. The options for political party affilia tion required by the application described in
88 subsection 1 of this section shall include all established political parties and an option to be
89 unaf filiated. If an applicant does not designate an af filiation, the election authority shall mark
90 the applicant's form as unaf filiated.
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 af firm 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 of ficial. Each
95 applicant who applies to register by mail pursuant to section 1 15.159, or pursuant to section
96 1 15.160 or 1 15.162, 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 1 15.160, or a voter registration agency
100 pursuant to section 1 15.162, 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. W ithin 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.
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106 5. If, upon receipt by mail of a voter registration application or a voter registration
107 application forwarded pursuant to section 1 15.160 or 1 15.162, 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 of fice under and pursuant to
112 section 1 15.219. 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 V oter 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 .
1 15.247. 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
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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 af fect 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 1 15.193.
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 1 15.063 to 1 15.077.
33 6. The election authority shall emboss and make available upon req uest ballots
34 in Braille for use by voters who ar e visually impaired .
1 15.281. 1. Except as provided in section 1 15.914, not later than the sixth T uesday
2 prior to each election, or within fourteen days after candidates' names or questions are
3 certified pursuant to section 1 15.125, the election authority shall cause to have printed and
4 made available a suf ficient quantity of absentee ballots, ballot envelopes and mailing
5 envelopes. As soon as possible after the proper of ficer calls a special state or county election,
6 the election authority shall cause to have printed and made available a suff icient 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 of ficial ballots
9 for the election , including ballots in Braille as req uired in section 1 15.247 .
1 15.287. 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 of fice 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 1 15.902, the method of transmission prescribed in section
10 1 15.914. 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 1 15.087. If the
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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. W ithin 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 of fice under and pursuant to section 1 15.219.
20 2. If, after 5:00 p.m. on the second W ednesday 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 , ST A TE 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 of fense ] a felony shall be disqualified from registering and voting in any
4 election under the laws of this state while confined under a sentence of imprisonment;
5 (2) Of a felony or misdemeanor connected with the exercise of the right of suf frage
6 shall be forever disqualified from registering and voting;
7 (3) Of any felony shall be forever disqualified from serving as a juror .
✔
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