FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1695L.03C D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 60.010, 78.090, 115.124, 115.350, 115.635, and 115.637, RSMo, and section 115.348 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 353, ninety-third general assembly, first regular session, and section 115.348 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 58, ninety-third general assembly, first regular session, and to enact in lieu thereof seven new sections relating to elections, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 60.010, 78.090, 115.124, 115.350, 115.635, and 115.637, RSMo, and section 115.348 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 353, ninety-third general assembly, first regular session, and section 115.348 as enacted by conference committee substitute for senate substitute for senate committee substitute for house committee substitute for house bill no. 58, ninety-third general assembly, first regular session, RSMo, are repealed and seven new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 60.010, 78.090, 115.124, 115.278, 115.350, 115.635, and 115.637, to read as follows:
60.010. 1. At the regular general election in the year 1948, and every four years thereafter, the voters of each county of this state in counties of the second, third, and fourth classification shall elect a registered land surveyor as county surveyor, who shall hold [his] office for four years and until [his] a successor is duly elected, commissioned, and qualified. The person elected shall be commissioned by the governor.
2. No person shall be elected or appointed surveyor unless [he be] such person is a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, [be] a registered land surveyor, and shall have resided within the state one whole year. An elected surveyor shall have resided within the county for which [he] the person is elected six months immediately prior to [his] election and shall after [his] election continue to reside within the county for which [he] the person is surveyor. An appointed surveyor need not reside within the county for which [he] the person is surveyor.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, or any other law to the contrary, the county commission of any county of the third or fourth classification may appoint a surveyor following [a general election in which] the deadline for filing for the office of surveyor [is on the ballot,] if no qualified candidate [seeks said] files for the office in a general election in which the office would have been on the ballot, provided that the notice required by section 115.345, RSMo, has been published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county. The appointed surveyor shall serve at the pleasure of the county commission, however, an appointed surveyor shall forfeit said office once a qualified individual, who has been duly elected at a regularly scheduled general election where the office of surveyor is on the ballot and who has been commissioned by the governor, takes office. The county commission shall fix appropriate compensation, which need not be equal to that of an elected surveyor.
78.090. 1. Candidates to be voted for at all general municipal elections at which a mayor and councilmen are to be elected under the provisions of sections 78.010 to [78.420] 78.400 shall be nominated by a primary election, except as provided in this section, and no other names shall be placed upon the general ballot except those selected in the manner herein prescribed. The primary election for such nomination shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February preceding the municipal election.
2. (1) In lieu of conducting a primary election under this section, any city organized under sections 78.010 to 78.400 may, by order or ordinance, provide for the elimination of the primary election and the conduct of elections for mayor and councilman as provided in this subsection.
(2) Any person desiring to become a candidate for mayor or councilman shall file with the city clerk a signed statement of such candidacy, stating whether such person is a resident of the city and a qualified voter of the city, that the person desires to be a candidate for nomination to the office of mayor or councilman to be voted upon at the next municipal election for such office, that the person is eligible for such office, that the person requests to be placed on the ballot, and that such person will serve if elected. Such statement shall be sworn to or affirmed before the city clerk.
(3) The city clerk shall cause the official ballots to be printed, and the names of the candidates shall appear on the ballots in the order that their statements of candidacy were filed with the city clerk. Above the names of the candidates shall appear the words "Vote for (number to be elected)". The ballot shall also include a warning that voting for more than the total number of candidates to be elected to any office invalidates the ballot.
115.124. 1. [Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in a nonpartisan election in any political subdivision or special district except for municipal elections, if the notice provided for in subsection 5 of section 115.127 has been published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the district, and if the number of candidates who have filed for a particular office is equal to the number of positions in that office to be filled by the election, no election shall be held for such office, and the candidates shall assume the responsibilities of their offices at the same time and in the same manner as if they had been elected.] Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if at any election the number of candidates filing for a particular office exceeds the number of positions to be filled at such election, the election authority shall hold the election as scheduled, even if a sufficient number of candidates withdraw from such contest for that office so that the number of candidates remaining after the filing deadline is equal to the number of positions to be filled.
2. The election authority or political subdivision responsible for the oversight of the filing of candidates in any nonpartisan election in any political subdivision or special district shall clearly designate where candidates shall form a line to effectuate such filings and determine the order of such filings; except that, in the case of candidates who file a declaration of candidacy with the election authority or political subdivision prior to 5:00 p.m. on the first day for filing, the election authority or political subdivision may determine by random drawing the order in which such candidates' names shall appear on the ballot. If a drawing is conducted pursuant to this subsection, it shall be conducted so that each candidate may draw a number at random at the time of filing. If such drawing is conducted, the election authority or political subdivision shall record the number drawn with the candidate's declaration of candidacy. If such drawing is conducted, the names of candidates filing on the first day of filing for each office on each ballot shall be listed in ascending order of the numbers so drawn.
3. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Andrew Jackson Vote Restoration Act".
115.278. 1. As used in this section, "overseas voter" means any permanent resident of this state who is temporarily residing outside of the territorial limits of the United States and the District of Columbia, who is a qualified voter, and who is:
(1) A member of the armed services of the United States while in active service, or an eligible spouse or dependent of such member;
(2) A member of the merchant marine of the United States, or an eligible spouse or dependent of such member; or
(3) Any other citizen of the United States who is covered under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, as amended.
2. The secretary of state shall establish a program and procedures to allow any overseas voter to receive and cast an absentee ballot using the Internet. The secretary of state shall consider software programs that are based on open source platforms, shall provide support to any local election authority participating in the program, shall provide adequate voter education information to overseas voters, and shall include funding from alternate sources for such program, including making available to local election authorities federal funds provided to the state under the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, as amended. The secretary shall also consider phased implementation of the program, and such phased implementation shall begin no later than June 30, 2010, and shall be fully implemented by January 1, 2012. Any program or software program chosen shall be secure and shall protect the secrecy of the ballot. No provision in this chapter relating to requirements for automated voting systems shall apply to any program established under this section.
115.350. No person shall qualify as a candidate for any elective public office in the state of Missouri, including any elective public office of any political subdivision of this state, who has:
(1) Been [convicted of or] found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a felony under the laws of this state;
(2) Been found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any crime in any other jurisdiction that would be a felony if committed in this state;
(3) Been found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any felony or misdemeanor under the federal laws of the United States of America;
(4) Been found guilty of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any crime in this state or in any other jurisdiction that involves misconduct in public office or dishonesty.
115.635. The following offenses, and any others specifically so described by law, shall be class three election offenses and are deemed misdemeanors connected with the exercise of the right of suffrage. Conviction for any of these offenses shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year or by fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine:
(1) Giving, lending, agreeing to give or lend, offering, promising, or endeavoring to procure, any money or valuable consideration, office, or place of employment, to or for any voter, to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any person, in order to induce any voter to vote or refrain from voting or corruptly doing any such act on account of such voter having already voted or refrained from voting at any election;
(2) Making use of, or threatening to make use of, any force, violence, or restraint, or inflicting or threatening to inflict any injury, damage, harm or loss upon or against any person, in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting at any election;
(3) Impeding or preventing, or attempting to impede or prevent, by abduction, duress or any fraudulent device or contrivance, the free exercise of the franchise of any voter or, by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device, compelling, inducing, or prevailing upon any voter to vote or refrain from voting at any election;
(4) Giving, or making an agreement to give, any money, property, right in action, or other gratuity or reward, in consideration of any grant or deputation of office;
(5) Bringing into this state any nonresident person with intent that such person shall vote at an election without possessing the requisite qualifications;
(6) Asking for, receiving, or taking any money or other reward by way of gift, loan, or other device or agreeing or contracting for any money, gift, office, employment, or other reward, for giving, or refraining from giving, his or her vote in any election;
(7) Removing, destroying or altering any supplies or information placed in or near a voting booth for the purpose of enabling a voter to prepare his or her ballot;
(8) Entering a voting booth or compartment except as specifically authorized by law;
(9) On the part of any election official, challenger, watcher or person assisting a person to vote, revealing or disclosing any information as to how any voter may have voted, indicated that the person had voted except as authorized by this chapter, indicated an intent to vote or offered to vote, except to a grand jury or pursuant to a lawful subpoena in a court proceeding relating to an election offense;
(10) On the part of any registration or election official, refusing to permit any person to register to vote or to vote when such official knows the person is legally entitled to register or legally entitled to vote;
(11) Attempting to commit or participating in an attempt to commit any class one or class two election offense;
(12) Using an electronic recording device to record, photograph, copy, or transmit the content of a voted ballot to any person or destination not authorized by this chapter to receive such information.
115.637. The following offenses, and any others specifically so described by law, shall be class four election offenses and are deemed misdemeanors not connected with the exercise of the right of suffrage. Conviction for any of these offenses shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than one year or by a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars or by both such imprisonment and fine:
(1) Stealing or willfully concealing, defacing, mutilating, or destroying any sample ballots that may be furnished by an organization or individual at or near any voting place on election day, except that this subdivision shall not be construed so as to interfere with the right of an individual voter to erase or cause to be erased on a sample ballot the name of any candidate and substituting the name of the person for whom he intends to vote; or to dispose of the received sample ballot;
(2) Printing, circulating, or causing to be printed or circulated, any false and fraudulent sample ballots which appear on their face to be designed as a fraud upon voters;
(3) Purposefully giving a printed or written sample ballot to any qualified voter which is intended to mislead the voter;
(4) On the part of any candidate for election to any office of honor, trust, or profit, offering or promising to discharge the duties of such office for a less sum than the salary, fees, or emoluments as fixed by law or promising to pay back or donate to any public or private interest any portion of such salary, fees, or emolument as an inducement to voters;
(5) On the part of any canvasser appointed to canvass any registration list, willfully failing to appear, refusing to continue, or abandoning such canvass or willfully neglecting to perform [his] the duties in making such canvass or willfully neglecting any duties lawfully assigned to [him] the canvasser;
(6) On the part of any employer, making, enforcing, or attempting to enforce any order, rule, or regulation or adopting any other device or method to prevent an employee from engaging in political activities, accepting candidacy for nomination to, election to, or the holding of, political office, holding a position as a member of a political committee, soliciting or receiving funds for political purpose, acting as [chairman] chair or participating in a political convention, assuming the conduct of any political campaign, signing, or subscribing [his] the employee's name to any initiative, referendum, or recall petition, or any other petition circulated pursuant to law;
(7) On the part of any person authorized or employed to print official ballots, or any person employed in printing ballots, giving, delivering, or knowingly permitting to be taken any ballot to or by any person other than the official under whose direction the ballots are being printed, any ballot in any form other than that prescribed by law, or with unauthorized names, with names misspelled, or with the names of candidates arranged in any way other than that authorized by law;
(8) On the part of any election authority or official charged by law with the duty of distributing the printed ballots, or any person acting on [his] the election authority's or official's behalf, knowingly distributing or causing to be distributed any ballot in any manner other than that prescribed by law;
(9) Any person [having in his possession] possessing any official ballot, except in the performance of [his] the duty as an election authority or official, or in the act of exercising [his] the person's individual voting privilege;
(10) Willfully mutilating, defacing, or altering any ballot before it is delivered to a voter;
(11) On the part of any election judge, willfully [absenting himself] being absent from the polls on election day without good cause or willfully detaining any election material or equipment and not causing it to be produced at the voting place at the opening of the polls or within fifteen minutes thereafter;
(12) On the part of any election authority or official, willfully neglecting, refusing, or omitting to perform any duty required [of him] by law with respect to holding and conducting an election, receiving and counting out the ballots, or making proper returns;
(13) On the part of any election judge, or party watcher or challenger, furnishing any information tending in any way to show the state of the count to any other person prior to the closing of the polls;
(14) On the part of any voter, except as otherwise provided by law, allowing [his] the voter's ballot to be seen by any person with the intent of letting it be known how [he] the voter is about to vote or has voted, or knowingly making a false statement as to [his] the voter's inability to mark [his] the ballot;
(15) On the part of any election judge, disclosing to any person the name of any candidate for whom a voter has voted;
(16) Interfering, or attempting to interfere, with any voter inside a polling place;
(17) On the part of any person at any registration site, polling place, counting location or verification location, causing any breach of the peace or engaging in disorderly conduct, violence, or threats of violence whereby such registration, election, count or verification is impeded or interfered with;
(18) Exit polling, surveying, sampling, electioneering, distributing election literature, posting signs or placing vehicles bearing signs with respect to any candidate or question to be voted on at an election on election day inside the building in which a polling place is located or within twenty-five feet of the building's outer door closest to the polling place, or, on the part of any person, refusing to remove or permit removal from property owned or controlled by [him] the person, any such election sign or literature located within such distance on such day after request for removal by any person;
(19) Stealing or willfully defacing, mutilating, or destroying any campaign yard sign on private property, except that this subdivision shall not be construed to interfere with the right of any private property owner to take any action with regard to campaign yard signs on the owner's property and this subdivision shall not be construed to interfere with the right of any candidate, or the candidate's designee, to remove the candidate's campaign yard sign from the owner's private property after the election day.
[115.348. No person shall qualify as a candidate for elective public office in the state of Missouri who has been found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony or misdemeanor under the federal laws of the United States of America.]
[115.348. No person shall qualify as a candidate for elective public office in the state of Missouri who has been convicted of or pled guilty to a felony or misdemeanor under the federal laws of the United States of America.]
•