This past session the Missouri legislature passed Senate Bill 631. Missouri should be an example to the nation of how to handle voting during the COVID-19 crisis. Our legislature made clear they would not support universal or permanent vote-by-mail policies. They would not open Missouri’s voting process to ballot harvesting where partisan groups collect ballots and turn them over in bulk to election authorities. And they were not going to allow non-citizens to vote.
In a recent column, Senator Schatz stressed the importance of understanding what the legislation does, and what it does not.
As Senator Schatz points out, the left wasn’t satisfied with the provisions in the bill and wanted to see mail-in voting become the norm in Missouri. A state judge already dismissed the case stating they “…are seeking a radical and permanent transformation of Missouri voting practices without the authorization of the Legislature.” The legislature understand the situations Missourians find themselves in today with COVID-19 and want to provide a temporary solution during it while Democrats continue to use the situation to alter how things are done in Missouri.
Shane Schoeller, Greene County Clerk, praised the legislature in an op-ed in the Springfield News-Leader. Schoeller points out that Missouri’s Local Election Authorities worked with the legislature to craft a voting bill that meets voters’ current needs without endangering our system to fraud. The mail-in ballot provision included in SB 631 provides a safe, secure, legal and temporary way to vote under these extraordinary circumstances while protecting against legitimate concerns about voter fraud.
You can read the bill summary here.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted our state, economy, and everyday life. The voting bill passed by the legislature should be celebrated as a victory in Missouri as we see what is unfolding throughout our country. Republicans in Missouri continue to show other states how we lead right!
|
|
