Bill Text: MO HB1836 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows any registered voter who is eligible to vote in a particular election to do so by absentee ballot without being required to state a reason
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-14 - Referred: Elections (H) [HB1836 Detail]
Download: Missouri-2010-HB1836-Introduced.html
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES ZIMMERMAN (Sponsor), FALLERT, ATKINS, COLONA, ENGLUND, GRILL, HARRIS, OXFORD, SCHUPP, SPRENG, WALTON GRAY, KUESSNER, SKAGGS, HUMMEL AND RUCKER (Co-sponsors).
3821L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 115.277, 115.279, 115.283, 115.287, 115.290, and 115.291, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof five new sections relating to absentee voting.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 115.277, 115.279, 115.283, 115.287, 115.290, and 115.291, RSMo, are repealed and five new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 115.277, 115.279, 115.283, 115.287, and 115.291, to read as follows:
115.277. 1. Except as provided in subsections 3, 4 and 5 of this section, any registered voter of this state may vote by absentee ballot for all candidates and issues for which such voter [would be] is eligible to vote at the polling place [if such voter expects to be prevented from going to the polls to vote on election day due to:
(1) Absence on election day from the jurisdiction of the election authority in which such voter is registered to vote;
(2) Incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical disability, including a person who is primarily responsible for the physical care of a person who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability;
(3) Religious belief or practice;
(4) Employment as an election authority, as a member of an election authority, or by an election authority at a location other than such voter's polling place;
(5) Incarceration, provided all qualifications for voting are retained]. Each election authority shall deliver an absentee ballot to each registered voter of this state for each primary or general election in which the voter can vote for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general, state representative, and state senator. Such absentee ballot shall be delivered as required in section 115.287.
2. Any person in federal service, as defined in section 115.275, who is eligible to register and vote in this state but is not registered may vote only in the election of presidential and vice presidential electors, United States senator and representative in Congress even though the person is not registered. Each person in federal service may vote by absentee ballot or, upon submitting an affidavit that the person is qualified to vote in the election, may vote at the person's polling place.
3. Any interstate former resident, as defined in section 115.275, may vote by absentee ballot for presidential and vice presidential electors.
4. Any intrastate new resident, as defined in section 115.275, may vote by absentee ballot at the election for presidential and vice presidential electors, United States senator, representative in Congress, statewide elected officials and statewide questions, propositions and amendments from such resident's new jurisdiction of residence after registering to vote in such resident's new jurisdiction of residence.
5. Any new resident, as defined in section 115.275, may vote by absentee ballot for presidential and vice presidential electors after registering to vote in such resident's new jurisdiction of residence.
115.279. 1. Application for an absentee ballot may be made by the applicant in person, or by mail, or for the applicant, in person, by his or her guardian or a relative within the second degree by consanguinity or affinity. The election authority shall accept applications by facsimile transmission within the limits of its telecommunications capacity. No application for an absentee ballot shall be required for any voter provided with an absentee ballot under subsection 1 of section 115.277.
2. Each application shall be made to the election authority of the jurisdiction in which the person is or would be registered. Each application shall be in writing and shall state the applicant's name, address at which he or she is or would be registered, [his or her reason for voting an absentee ballot] and the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, if mailing is requested. Each application to vote in a primary election shall also state which ballot the applicant wishes to receive. If any application fails to designate a ballot, the election authority shall, within three working days after receiving the application, notify the applicant by mail that it will be unable to deliver an absentee ballot until the applicant designates which political party ballot he or she wishes to receive. If the applicant does not respond to the request for political party designation, the election authority is authorized to provide the voter with that part of the ballot for which no political party designation is required.
3. All applications for absentee ballots received prior to the sixth Tuesday before an election shall be stored at the office of the election authority until such time as the applications are processed in accordance with section 115.281. No application for an absentee ballot received in the office of the election authority by mail, by facsimile transmission or by a guardian or relative after 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday immediately prior to the election shall be accepted by any election authority. No application for an absentee ballot submitted by the applicant in person after 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election shall be accepted by any election authority, except as provided in subsections 6, 8 and 9 of this section.
4. Each application for an absentee ballot shall be signed by the applicant or, if the application is made by a guardian or relative pursuant to this section, the application shall be signed by the guardian or relative, who shall note on the application his or her relationship to the applicant. If an applicant, guardian or relative is blind, unable to read or write the English language or physically incapable of signing the application, he or she shall sign by mark, witnessed by the signature of an election official or person of his or her own choosing. Any person who knowingly makes, delivers or mails a fraudulent absentee ballot application shall be guilty of a class one election offense.
5. (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any resident of the state of Missouri who resides outside the boundaries of the United States or who is on active duty with the armed forces of the United States or members of their immediate family living with them may request an absentee ballot for both the primary and subsequent general election with one application. In addition, the election authority shall provide to each absent uniformed services voter and each overseas voter who submits an absentee ballot request an absentee ballot through the next two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office.
(2) The election authority shall provide each absent uniformed services voter and each overseas voter who submits a voter registration application or an absentee ballot request, if the election authority rejects the application or request, with the reasons for the rejection.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, if a standard oath regarding material misstatements of fact is adopted for uniformed and overseas voters pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the election authority shall accept such oath for voter registration, absentee ballot, or other election-related materials.
(4) Not later than sixty days after the date of each regularly scheduled general election for federal office, each election authority which administered the election shall submit to the secretary of state in a format prescribed by the secretary a report on the combined number of absentee ballots transmitted to, and returned by, absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the election. The secretary shall submit to the Election Assistance Commission a combined report of such information not later than ninety days after the date of each regularly scheduled general election for federal office and in a standardized format developed by the commission pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The secretary shall make the report available to the general public.
(5) As used in this section, the terms "absent uniformed services voter" and "overseas voter" shall have the meaning prescribed in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6.
6. An application for an absentee ballot by a new resident, as defined in section 115.275, shall be submitted in person by the applicant in the office of the election authority in the election jurisdiction in which such applicant resides. The application shall be received by the election authority no later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election. Such application shall be in the form of an affidavit, executed in duplicate in the presence of the election authority or any authorized officer of the election authority, and in substantially the following form:
"STATE OF.............................
COUNTY OF........................., ss.
I,......................................, do solemnly swear that:
(1) Before becoming a resident of this state, I resided at ...................................................... (residence address) in ............................ (town, township, village or city) of ................................. County in the state of .........................................;
(2) I moved to this state after the last day to register to vote in such general presidential election and I am now residing in the county of ........................................., state of Missouri;
(3) I believe I am entitled pursuant to the laws of this state to vote in the presidential election to be held November ......., .......... (year);
(4) I hereby make application for a presidential and vice presidential ballot. I have not voted and shall not vote other than by this ballot at such election.
Signed .............................
(Applicant)
.........................................
(Residence Address)
[Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............ day of
................, ......
Signed .............................
(Title and name of officer authorized to administer oaths)"]
7. The election authority in whose office an application is filed pursuant to subsection 6 of this section shall immediately send a duplicate of such application to the appropriate official of the state in which the new resident applicant last resided and shall file the original of such application in its office.
8. An application for an absentee ballot by an intrastate new resident, as defined in section 115.275, shall be made in person by the applicant in the office of the election authority in the election jurisdiction in which such applicant resides. The application shall be received by the election authority no later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election. Such application shall be in the form of an affidavit, executed in duplicate in the presence of the election authority or an authorized officer of the election authority, and in substantially the following form:
"STATE OF .............................
COUNTY OF ......................, ss.
I, ......................................, do solemnly swear that:
(1) Before becoming a resident of this election jurisdiction, I resided at ...................................... ................. (residence address) in ........................ (town, township, village or city) of ............................ county in the state of ......................................;
(2) I moved to this election jurisdiction after the last day to register to vote in such election;
(3) I believe I am entitled pursuant to the laws of this state to vote in the election to be held ........................ ........... (date);
(4) I hereby make application for an absentee ballot for candidates and issues on which I am entitled to vote pursuant to the laws of this state. I have not voted and shall not vote other than by this ballot at such election.
Signed .......................
(Applicant)
...................................
(Residence Address)
[Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............... day of ................, .........
Signed .......................
(Title and name of officer authorized to administer oaths)"]
9. An application for an absentee ballot by an interstate former resident, as defined in section 115.275, shall be received in the office of the election authority where the applicant was formerly registered by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday immediately prior to the election, unless the application is made in person by the applicant in the office of the election authority, in which case such application shall be made no later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.
115.283. 1. Each ballot envelope shall bear a statement on which the voter shall state the voter's name, the voter's voting address, and the voter's mailing address [and the voter's reason for voting an absentee ballot]. On the form, the voter shall also state under penalties of perjury that the voter is qualified to vote in the election, that the voter has not previously voted and will not vote again in the election, that the voter has personally marked the voter's ballot in secret or supervised the marking of the voter's ballot if the voter is unable to mark it, that the ballot has been placed in the ballot envelope and sealed by the voter or under the voter's supervision if the voter is unable to seal it, and that all information contained in the statement is true. In addition, any person providing assistance to the absentee voter shall include a statement on the envelope identifying the person providing assistance under penalties of perjury. Persons authorized to vote only for federal and statewide officers shall also state their former Missouri residence.
2. The statement for persons voting absentee ballots who are registered voters shall be in substantially the following form:
State of Missouri
County (City) of .......................
I, ............................................... (print name), a registered voter of .......................... County (City of St. Louis, Kansas City), declare under the penalties of perjury [that I expect to be prevented from going to the polls on election day due to (check one):
........... absence on election day from the jurisdiction of
the election authority in which I am registered;
........... incapacity or confinement due to illness or
physical disability, including caring for a person
who is incapacitated or confined due to illness or
disability;
........... religious belief or practice;
........... employment as an election authority or by an
election authority at a location other than my
polling place;
........... incarceration, although I have retained all the
necessary qualifications for voting.
I hereby state under penalties of perjury] that I am qualified to vote at this election; I have not voted and will not vote other than by this ballot at this election. I further state that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret or that I am blind, unable to read or write English, or physically incapable of marking the ballot, and the person of my choosing indicated below marked the ballot at my direction; all of the information on this statement is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true.
......................................... ............................................
Signature of Voter Signature of Person
Assisting Voter
(if applicable)
[Signed ............................. Subscribed and sworn to
Signed .............................. before me this ...... day]
Address of Voter [of ........., ...........]
................................. [.........................]
................................. [.........................]
Mailing addresses [Signature of notary or]
(if different) [other officer authorized
to administer oaths]
3. The statement for persons voting absentee ballots pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2, 3, 4 or 5 of section 115.277 without being registered shall be in substantially the following form:
State of Missouri
County (City) of ......................
I, ............................ (print name), declare under the penalties of perjury that I am a citizen of the United States and eighteen years of age or older. I am not adjudged incapacitated by any court of law, and if I have been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage, I have had the voting disabilities resulting from such conviction removed pursuant to law. I hereby state under penalties of perjury that I am qualified to vote at this election.
(1) I am a resident of the state of Missouri and (check one):
........... am a member of the U.S. armed forces in active service;
........... am an active member of the U.S. merchant marine;
........... am a civilian employee of the U.S. government working
outside the United States;
........... am an active member of a religious or welfare
organization assisting servicemen;
........... have been honorably discharged or terminated my service
in one of the groups mentioned above within sixty days
of this election;
........... am a spouse or dependent of one of the above;
........... am a registered voter in .............. County and
moved from that county to .................. County,
Missouri, after the last day to register to vote in
this election.
OR (check if applicable)
(2) ..................... I am an interstate former resident of Missouri and authorized to vote for presidential and vice presidential electors. I further state under penalties of perjury that I have not voted and will not vote other than by this ballot at this election; I marked the enclosed ballot in secret or am blind, unable to read or write English, or physically incapable of marking the ballot, and the person of my choosing indicated below marked the ballot at my direction; all of the information on this statement is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true.
.......................................... [Subscribed to and sworn]
Signature of Voter [before me this ...... day
of ............, ........]
..........................................
.......................................... [.........................]
Address of Voter [Signature of notary or
other officer authorized
to administer oaths]
..........................................
..........................................
Mailing Address
(if different) ............................................
............................................
................................. ............................................
Signature of Person Address of Last Missouri
Assisting Voter Residence (if applicable)
4. The statement for persons voting absentee ballots who are entitled to vote at the election pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2 of section 115.137 shall be in substantially the following form:
State of Missouri
County (City) of ..........................
I, ....................................... (print name), declare under the penalties of perjury that I [expect to be prevented from going to the polls on election day due to (check one):
........... absence on election day from the jurisdiction of the
election authority in which I am directed to vote;
........... incapacity or confinement due to illness or physical
disability, including caring for a person who is
incapacitated or confined due to illness or disability;
........... religious belief or practice;
........... employment as an election authority or by an election
authority at a location other than my polling place;
........... incarceration, although I have retained all the
necessary qualifications of voting.
I hereby state under penalties of perjury that I] own property in the ...................... district and am qualified to vote at this election; I have not voted and will not vote other than by this ballot at this election. I further state that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret or that I am blind, unable to read and write English, or physically incapable of marking the ballot, and the person of my choosing indicated below marked the ballot at my direction; all of the information on this statement is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true.
.......................................... [Subscribed and sworn to]
Signature of Voter [before me this .........
day of ........, ........]
..........................................
.......................................... [.........................]
Address [Signature of notary or
other officer authorized
to administer oaths]
..........................................
Signature of Person
Assisting Voter
(if applicable)
5. The statement for persons providing assistance to absentee voters shall be in substantially the following form:
The voter needed assistance in marking the ballot and signing above, because of blindness, other physical disability, or inability to read or to read English. I marked the ballot enclosed in this envelope at the voter's direction, when I was alone with the voter, and I had no other communication with the voter as to how he or she was to vote. The voter swore or affirmed the voter affidavit above and I then signed the voter's name and completed the other voter information above. Signed under the penalties of perjury.
Reason why voter needed assistance: .........................
ASSISTING PERSON SIGN HERE
1. .....................(signature of assisting person)
2. .................... (assisting person's name printed)
3. .................... (assisting person's residence)
4. .....................(assisting person's home city or town).
6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any resident of the state of Missouri who resides outside the boundaries of the United States or who is on active duty with the armed forces of the United States or members of their immediate family living with them or persons who have declared themselves to be permanently disabled pursuant to section 115.284, otherwise entitled to vote, shall not be required to obtain a notary seal or signature on his or her absentee ballot.
7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or section 115.291 to the contrary, the subscription, signature and seal of a notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths shall not be required on any ballot, ballot envelope, or statement required by this section [if the reason for the voter voting absentee is due to the reasons established pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of section 115.277.
8. No notary shall charge or collect a fee for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot or absentee voter registration.
9. A notary public who charges more than the maximum fee specified or who charges or collects a fee for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot or absentee voter registration is guilty of official misconduct].
115.287. 1. Upon receipt of a signed application for an absentee ballot [and if satisfied the applicant is entitled to vote by absentee ballot], the election authority shall, within three working days after receiving the application, or if absentee ballots are not available at the time the application is received, within five working days after they become available, deliver to the voter an absentee ballot, ballot envelope and such instructions as are necessary for the applicant to vote. Delivery shall be made to the voter personally in the office of the election authority or by bipartisan teams appointed by the election authority, or by first class, registered, or certified mail at the discretion of the election authority. Where the election authority is a county clerk, the members of bipartisan teams representing the political party other than that of county clerk shall be selected from a list of persons submitted to the county clerk by the county chairman of that party. If no list is provided by the time that absentee ballots are to be made available, the county clerk may select a person or persons from lists provided in accordance with section 115.087. If the election authority is not satisfied that any applicant is entitled to vote by absentee ballot, it shall not deliver an absentee ballot to the applicant. Within three working days of receiving such an application, the election authority shall notify the applicant and state the reason he or she is not entitled to vote by absentee ballot. The applicant may appeal the decision of the election authority to the circuit court in the manner provided in section 115.223.
2. If, after 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before an election, any voter from the jurisdiction has become hospitalized, becomes confined due to illness or injury, or is confined in an adult boarding facility, intermediate care facility, residential care facility, or skilled nursing facility, as defined in section 198.006, RSMo, in the county in which the jurisdiction is located or in the jurisdiction or an adjacent election authority within the same county, the election authority shall appoint a team to deliver, witness the signing of and return the voter's application and deliver, witness the voting of and return the voter's absentee ballot. In counties with a charter form of government and in cities not within a county, and in each city which has over three hundred thousand inhabitants, and is situated in more than one county, if the election authority receives ten or more applications for absentee ballots from the same address it may appoint a team to deliver and witness the voting and return of absentee ballots by voters residing at that address, except when such addresses are for an apartment building or other structure wherein individual living units are located, each of which has its own separate cooking facilities. Each team appointed pursuant to this subsection shall consist of two registered voters, one from each major political party. Both members of any team appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be present during the delivery, signing or voting and return of any application or absentee ballot signed or voted pursuant to this subsection.
3. On the mailing and ballot envelopes for each applicant in federal service, the election authority shall stamp prominently in black the words "FEDERAL BALLOT, STATE OF MISSOURI" and "U.S. Postage Paid, 39 U.S.C. 3406".
4. No information which encourages a vote for or against a candidate or issue shall be provided to any voter with an absentee ballot.
115.291. 1. Upon receiving an absentee ballot, the voter shall mark the ballot in secret, place the ballot in the ballot envelope, seal the envelope and fill out the statement on the ballot envelope. [The affidavit of each person voting an absentee ballot shall be subscribed and sworn to before the election official receiving the ballot, a notary public or other officer authorized by law to administer oaths, unless the voter is voting absentee due to incapacity or confinement due to the provisions of section 115.284, illness or physical disability.] If the voter is blind, unable to read or write the English language, or physically incapable of voting the ballot, the voter may be assisted by a person of the voter's own choosing. Any person assisting a voter who is not entitled to such assistance, and any person who assists a voter and in any manner coerces or initiates a request or a suggestion that the voter vote for or against or refrain from voting on any question, ticket or candidate, shall be guilty of a class one election offense. If, upon counting, challenge or election contest, it is ascertained that any absentee ballot was voted with unlawful assistance, the ballot shall be rejected.
2. Each absentee ballot shall be returned to the election authority in the ballot envelope and shall only be returned by the voter in person, or in person by a relative of the voter who is within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, by mail or registered carrier, or by a team of deputy election authorities; except that persons in federal service, when sent from a location determined by the secretary of state to be inaccessible on election day, shall be allowed to return their absentee ballots cast by use of facsimile transmission or under a program approved by the Department of Defense for electronic transmission of election materials.
3. In cases of an emergency declared by the President of the United States or the governor of this state where the conduct of an election may be affected, the secretary of state may provide for the delivery and return of absentee ballots by use of a facsimile transmission device or system. Any rule promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall apply to a class or classes of voters as provided for by the secretary of state.
4. Any person registered by mail under the provisions of section 115.159 and voting by absentee ballot shall provide an affidavit subscribed and sworn to before the election official receiving the ballot, a notary public, or other officer authorized by law to administer oaths, regardless of the cause for requesting such ballot unless the voter is exempt from such requirement under section 115.284 or section 1973ee-3, title 42, United States Code.
[115.290. Any person registered by mail under the provisions of section 115.159 and voting by absentee ballot shall provide an affidavit subscribed and sworn to as provided in section 115.291 regardless of the cause for requesting such ballot unless the voter is exempt from such requirement under section 115.284 or section 1973ee-3, title 42, United States Code.]
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