Bill places barriers between voters and ballots, restricts voter registration efforts
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, decried Gov. Mike Parson’s decision Wednesday to sign House Bill 1878, a bill that impedes free and equal voting.
“Despite outcry across the state from Missourians that value their right to vote, Governor Parson decided to sign an anti-democratic bill that will infringe on our most sacred American right,” Bland Manlove said. “Republicans decided to institute these barriers based on lies of widespread election fraud fabricated to overturn a free and fair election and ignore the will of the people. Make no mistake: this bill undermines the strength of our democracy by making it more difficult for Missourians — especially Black Missourians — to vote.”
HB 1878 contains several other wide-ranging election law changes that attack everything from the voter registration process to absentee voters. The bill criminalizes anyone who registers more than 10 voters without first registering with the secretary of state and threatens them with up to a year in prison, forbids the counting of absentee votes that were sent by a voter before an election but not received by the time polls close and ends presidential preference primaries
It also has provisions instituting photo voter ID, which has been proven to have a disproportionate negative impact on voter turnout for Black people, people of color, women, and the elderly. Bland Manlove said she expects concerned voters to take legal action against this provision. The Missouri Supreme Court largely struck down a previously-passed photo voter ID bill in early 2020.
“Time and time again, we have seen photo voter ID bills approved by Republicans in the General Assembly, and time and time again, the Missouri Supreme Court has graciously informed them of that provision’s unconstitutionality,” Bland Manlove said. “The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus expects to see that provision challenged in the courts once again, and we also believe other parts of the bill could too.”
Bland Manlove urges Missourians to verify their voter registration information often as citizens can now be more easily dropped from voter rolls under HB 1878.
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