HB 1871: Elections Omnibus & Presidential Primary
Sponsor: Peggy McGaugh
OPPOSE
A Step in the Wrong Direction - Bad for Election integrity
HB 1871 is a classic "omnibus" elections package. While it contains some necessary integrity updates regarding candidate eligibility and equipment testing, it forces legislators to accept major expansions of government—including a state-funded presidential primary and a doubled early voting window—while simultaneously pushing citizen oversight further away from polling places.
What Does This Bill Do?
- Reinstates State-Funded Presidential Primary: Sets a statewide preference primary in March of presidential years, forcing taxpayers to pay for internal party nominating processes.
- Doubles Early Voting Window: Increases the no-excuse in-person absentee window from 2 weeks to 4 weeks (beginning the fourth Tuesday prior to election).
- Expands "Buffer Zones": Increases the electioneering distance from 25 feet to 50 feet, pushing signs, pamphleteers, and citizen watchdogs further away from polling places.
Constitutional or Critical Context
While technically complying with the single-subject rule because everything relates to "elections," this bill violates the spirit of the Constitution. It bundles controversial policy shifts (like taxpayer-funded primaries and early voting expansion) with necessary technical fixes (like candidate tax compliance), forcing legislators into an "all-or-nothing" vote where they must swallow bad policy to get the good cleanup measures.
Red Flags & Recommended Amendments
Greatly Harms Election integrity
Doubles the no-excuse in-person absentee window (early voting) from about 2 weeks to 4 weeks before election day.
State Funding of Party Business
Taxpayers should not underwrite party nominating contests. This shift allows parties to avoid the hard work of caucuses and vetting, relying instead on state machinery and media buys.
Chilling Free Speech
Doubling the electioneering zone to 50 feet gives hostile local officials more leverage to push peaceful citizen groups out of sight and reduces meaningful oversight at the polls.
Act for Missouri Recommendation:
Act for Missouri OPPOSES HB 1871. We cannot support a bill that expands the election season to a full month and forces taxpayers to fund party primaries.