SB 1132: Paper Ballots & Hand Counting Elections
Sponsor: Ben Brown
SUPPORT
With Recommended Amendments
SB 1132 is designed to move Missouri elections away from electronic voting systems and toward paper ballots counted by hand. It repeals large blocks of current statutes tied to electronic tabulation and replaces them with a framework for hand-counting procedures, while preserving a limited number of accessible voting machines for qualifying voters.
What Does This Bill Do?
- Paper Ballots Default: Mandates that the official ballot be printed on paper and marked by the voter (or assistance person), establishing hand-marking as the primary method.
- Repeals Electronic Tabulation: Repeals 16 statutory sections and amends 27 others to remove legal frameworks for automatic tabulating equipment and electronic voting systems.
- Accessibility Protections: Requires election authorities to provide a sufficient number of accessible voting machines for voters with disabilities, tied to a qualifying eligibility list.
Constitutional or Critical Context
While the bill is 66 pages long, this length largely reflects the mechanical process of removing an entire election method (electronic tabulation) and replacing it with hand-count procedures, rather than adding unrelated policies. However, the bill creates a slight "delegation risk" by centralizing authority in the Secretary of State to maintain the list of voters eligible for accessible machines, which Act for Missouri believes could benefit from tighter guardrails.
Red Flags & Recommended Amendments
Generic Bill Title (Fair Notice)
The title "conduct of elections" is too generic and fails to give citizens fair notice of the major pivot to hand counting. We recommend amending it to clearly state "relating to paper ballots and hand counting, and limiting voting machine use to accessibility voting".
Centralized SOS Gatekeeper Power
The bill allows the Secretary of State to control the list of voters eligible for accessible machines. This could be amended to keep eligibility records at the county level to prevent political misuse and protect data privacy.
Act for Missouri Recommendation:
Act for Missouri SUPPORTS SB 1132 because it fundamentally restores election transparency by moving to paper ballots and hand counting. However, we suggest some targeted changes to localize the accessible-voter eligibility list, minimize data collection, and strengthen the bill title to ensure full public transparency.