Modifies provisions for voter registration

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3227
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE PERKINS.
6849H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal sections 1 15.158 and 1 15.160, 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Section A. Sections 1 15.158 and 1 15.160, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections
2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 1 15.158 and 1 15.160, to read as follows:
1 15.158. 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 V oter Registration System". The system shall be implemented by January 1, 2004,
4 unless a waiver is obtained pursuant to the Help America V ote 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 of ficial list of registered
10 voters throughout Missouri;
11 (3) Be coordinated with other agency databases in Missouri;
12 (4) Allow any election of ficial 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 of ficial 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 of ficial. The secretary of state, as the chief state election
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.
17 of ficial, shall provide such support as may be required so that local election of ficials are able
18 to enter the registration information; and
19 (6) Serve as the of ficial 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 V oter 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 effor t to remove registrants
35 who are ineligible to vote. Consistent with the National V oter 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 of fice shall be removed from the of ficial 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. V oter registration information shall be verified in accordance with the Help
41 America V ote 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 2
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 r evenue'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 V ote 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. V iolation 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 ef fective
78 unless it has been promulgated pursuant to chapter 536.
79 9. Election authorities and any agency required under the National V oter 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 V ote Act of 2002.
1 15.160. 1. Except as otherwise prov ided 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 3
9 3. After conferring with the secretary of state as the chief state election of ficial
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. V oter 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 1 15.158 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 1 15.145 ]. 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 dif ferent 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 provi de an appr opriate document
42 that otherwise establishes citizenship shall not be of fered the opportunity to register to vote
43 as part of the transaction. The division shall only pr ovide an opportunity to reg ister to
44 vote to a person who pr ovides documentation demonstrating that the individual is a
45 citizen of the United States.
HB 3227 4
46 8. The secr etary of state and the dire ctor of rev enue shall jointly develop a
47 pr ocess by which the division of motor vehicle and drivers licensing of the department of
48 r evenue, upon obtaining as part of a license transaction a person’ s full name, date of
49 birth, driver’ s license or state identification number , res idence addr ess, and mailing
50 addr ess if differ ent fr om r esidence addr ess, may use information fr om the statewide
51 voter registra tion database to determine whether the person is alr eady regist ered to vote
52 in the state and, if so, whether the person is regi stered at the addr ess and under the
53 name the person prov ided to the division of motor vehicle and drivers licensing of the
54 department of reve nue.
✔
HB 3227 5