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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2728
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE APPELBAUM.
4361H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 1 15.175, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the
Missouri voter fraud prevention act, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 1 15.175, RSMo, is repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as sections 1 15.175 and 1 15.975, to read as follows:
1 15.175. Any person who knowingly or willfully gives any false information for the
2 purpose of establishing his eligibility to register to vote or who conspires with another person
3 for the purpose of encouraging his false registration or illegal vote, or who pays or of fers to
4 pay , accepts or of fers to accept payment for registering to vote or for voting, or who otherwise
5 willfully and fraudulently furnishes false information to a registration of ficial for the purpose
6 of causing a false or fictitious registration, or who registers to vote with the intention of
7 voting more than once in the same election shall be guilty of a class one election of fense.
8 Err ors in the statewide voter registra tion system shall not amount to a class one election
9 offense unless the individual knowingly or willfully pr ovided false information that led
10 to the error .
1 15.975. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri V oter
2 Fraud Pr evention Act".
3 2. Notwithstanding any other manner of voter r egistration under this chapter ,
4 every eligible voter in the state shall be automatically regist ered to vote as provi ded in
5 this section unless the voter indicates that he or she does not want to be reg istered to
6 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.
7 3. (1) As used in this section, the term "sourc e agency" shall mean the
8 department of rev enue, the department of social services, local housing authorities, the
9 University of Missouri system, the department of corr ections, the department of labor ,
10 the department of health and senior services, the bur eau of vital rec ords, local health
11 departments, reco rders of deeds, and any other agency designated by the secr etary of
12 state as pr ovided in subdivision (2) of this subsection.
13 (2) The secr etary of state may designate additional state agencies to serve as
14 sour ces for voter regist ration information. In designating additional agencies, the
15 secr etary of state shall consider:
16 (a) The likelihood that the agency's recor ds contain information about a large
17 number of eligible citizens;
18 (b) The extent to which the agency's record s ref lect eligible citizens who would
19 not otherwise be r egistered to vote;
20 (c) The accuracy of personal identification information stor ed in the reco rds;
21 and
22 (d) Any additional factors the secr etary of state determines are reas onably
23 r elated to achieving automatic voter re gistration.
24 4. (1) The following actions shall res ult in an individual's automatic voter
25 r egistration or an update to the information of an alrea dy regist ered voter if the
26 individual otherwise meets the r equir ements to register to vote:
27 (a) Completing an application for a new or r enewed driver's license, nondriver
28 identification card, driver's permit, or certification of supervised driving that is not a
29 r equest for duplication of a lost or stolen card with the department of reve nue or
30 notifying the department in writing of a change in his or her name or mailing addr ess;
31 (b) Completing an application for services or r enewal of services or change of
32 addr ess r elating to services fr om the department of social services;
33 (c) Completing an application for services or r enewal of services or change of
34 addr ess r elating to services fr om a local housing authority;
35 (d) Registering for classes at an institution of the University of Missouri system;
36 (e) Completing an application for unemployment benefits;
37 (f) Filing a death certificate with the burea u of vital r ecords or local health
38 department;
39 (g) Submitting a form by the department of corr ections to the secr etary of state
40 that confirms an individual has been discharged fr om pro bation, paro le, or
4 1 incar ceration; the discharge is nonconditional; and the individual's place of res idence
42 upon rele ase; or
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43 (h) Completing an application with a sour ce agency , as that term is defined in
44 subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section.
45 (2) When a source agency assists an individual with any of the activities in
46 paragraphs (a) to (h) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the sour ce agency shall, at
47 least monthly , pr ovide the following information for each individual to the secr etary of
48 state:
49 (a) Full name;
50 (b) Mailing and res idential addr esses;
51 (c) Date of birth;
52 (d) Pr oof of citizenship or attestation of eligibility;
53 (e) Driver's license or nondriver identification card number or the last four
54 numbers of the individual's Social Security number; and
55 (f) An image of the individual's signatur e.
56
57 In the event that the source agency does not have or does not pr ovide an image of the
58 individual's signatur e, the secr etary of state shall develop a method for indicating that
59 the voter is r equir ed to pr ovide his or her signatur e and an acceptable form of voter
60 identification when applying for an absentee ballot or before voting at a polling place on
61 election day .
62 (3) Upon rece ipt of the information in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the
63 secr etary of state shall identify individuals who ar e eligible to reg ister to vote but ar e not
64 r egister ed and shall pro mptly send each individual a written notice with the following
65 information:
66 (a) An explanation that voter r egistration is voluntary , but if the individual does
67 not expr essly decline r egistration, he or she will be regi stered to vote;
68 (b) A statement offering the opportunity to decline to re gister to vote, that
69 r egistration shall be declined within forty-five days after the date that the notice is
70 postmarked, and that the decision to decline voter r egistration shall r emain
7 1 confidential;
72 (c) The voter eligibility requ irem ents and a statement that the individual shall
73 decline reg istration if he or she does not satisfy the r equir ements;
74 (d) Penalties for submission of false information; and
75 (e) Instructions for correct ing incorr ect information.
76
77 The written notice shall include a form that may be signed and r eturned in a prepa id
78 envelope to decline voter reg istration. If an individual fails to decline voter regist ration
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79 within forty-five days fr om the date the notice is postmarked, the individual shall be
80 r egister ed to vote.
81 5. The secr etary of state shall develop a form that source agencies may utilize to
82 assist in collecting the information req uire d under paragraphs (a) to (f) of subdivision
83 (2) of subsection 4 of this section. The form shall contain the following information:
84 (1) An explanation that voter regi stration is voluntary but if the individual does
85 not expr essly decline r egistration, he or she will be regi stered to vote;
86 (2) A statement offering the opportunity to decline to re gister to vote, the method
87 by which the individual may decline regist ration, and a statement that the decision to
88 decline voter r egistration shall rem ain confidential;
89 (3) The voter eligibility requi rem ents and a statement that the individual
90 declines regist ration if he or she does not satisfy the req uirements ;
91 (4) Penalties for submission of false information; and
92 (5) A statement that the benefits or services sought fr om the sour ce agency shall
93 not be affected by the individual's decision to r egister or decline to r egister to vote.
94 6. The secr etary of state and source agencies shall collaborate on the best
95 methods for complying with the r equir ements of this section. The secr etary of state
96 shall make rules regard ing the implementation of this section and shall be res ponsible
97 for pr oviding training pr ograms for source agencies. All source agencies shall comply
98 with rules established by the secr etary of state to assist with the implementation of
99 automatic voter reg istration.
100 7. The secr etary of state may pr omulgate rules to assist in the implementation of
101 this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that
102 is cr eated under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it
103 complies with and is subject to all of the pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable,
104 section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers
105 vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the
106 effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional,
107 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pro posed or adopted after August
108 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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