Rudi Keller

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, issued an audit of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office and downgraded his administration to the second-lowest rating because it illegally withheld documentation about election cybersecurity. Ashcroft, who is also a Republican, criticized the report as a political attack.

A coalition that includes the Kansas City Chiefs, Royals and Current — and that's funded by two sports betting platforms — is launching an initiative campaign to put sports gambling on this year’s ballot. Team owners say that efforts to persuade Missouri lawmakers have been futile.

The Missouri Department of Transportation approved an Adopt-a-Highway application from the family of Kevin “Rockhead” Johnson, who was executed in November 2022 for the killing of a Kirkwood Police officer. The sign was up for four months before the entire program got suspended.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft threatened to unilaterally kick President Joe Biden off of the Missouri ballot if Donald Trump is disqualified in other states for violating the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause. But an appeals court ruling found Missouri law did not give the secretary of state that power.

Ashcroft, who is also a candidate for Missouri governor, is the latest prominent figure targeted by false crime reports intended to trigger heavy police response.

The Missouri State Employees Retirement Fund reversed its previous decision to reject a divestment proposal from Treasurer Vivek Malek. One of the four legislators on the board accused Malek of playing politics with state investments to boost his 2024 election chances.

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek called on the State Employees Retirement System to sell off its investments in Chinese stocks and other securities as punishment for COVID-19, spy balloons and the fentanyl crisis.

The NAACP and the League of Women Voters are challenging Missouri's 2022 voter ID law, arguing it imposes unconstitutional burdens on the right to vote without actually achieving the stated goal of reducing fraud. Two previous attempts by Missouri Republicans to require voter IDs have been struck down by the courts.

The Missouri Secretary of State's language for reproductive rights ballot issues has been savaged by two courts, most recently when the Western District Court of Appeals unanimously ruled his summaries are “replete with politically partisan language." Ashcroft called the lower court decisions "inappropriate."

A trial starting Friday will be the third time Missouri courts have weighed the merits of a law intended to combat fraud against right to vote without interference. Twice before, Missouri's photo ID requirements have been struck down as violations of the state’s constitution.