voting rights

Backers of the Respect Missouri Voters initiative turned in roughly 350,000 signatures on Sunday to the Missouri secretary of state’s office. Lawmakers would be barred from changing or repealing voter-approved statutes or constitutional amendments, unless 80% of the legislature agrees to put the changes to another statewide vote.

By weakening Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination in redistricting, the Supreme Court has paved the way for the largest-ever drop in representation by Black members of Congress.

Even though the Supreme Court's decision gutting the Voting Rights Act would likely allow the Missouri legislature to redraw the 1st Congressional District in 2027, GOP lawmakers may be hesitant to change the St. Louis-based seat.

The court, in a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, ruled that Louisiana's 2024 election map, which created a second majority-Black congressional district, was "an unconstitutional racial gerrymander."

Trump's order attempts to restrict mail-in ballots only to voters on an approved federal list. But Democrats and postal law experts have said the Postal Service has no authority over elections.

Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed dozens of bills, but Republicans overrode a majority to force the measures into law — including restrictions on student protesters, funding for anti-abortion centers, and more power for landlords.

The U.S. House has passed a version of the SAVE Act that requires people to produce additional documents if they are registering to vote with a different name than the one on their birth certificate. Critics say it disproportionately affects women, transgender individuals and others who've changed their name.

The U.S. Department of Justice claimed in court it already has sensitive data on voters so it can check for people who should not be registered. However, the Kansas secretary of state said none of that information has been shared.

Rep. Melanie Stinnett, a Springfield Republican, sponsored the bipartisan bill that could give voting rights back to more than 53,000 Missourians. It passed the Missouri House 107-36, and is now waiting for action in the Senate.

The state House has approved legislation that would allow more than 53,000 people supervised by the state to vote.

Passed by Republican lawmakers last year, Amendment 4 would require a majority of voters in every Missouri congressional district to approve a proposed constitutional amendment for it to pass. That would allow a small minority of voters to defeat petition campaigns.

Rep. Pat Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican who is running for secretary of state, and Rep. Paul Waggoner, a Hutchinson Republican, also want to require driver’s licenses to indicate citizenship status, in an effort to stamp out the already-rare instances of noncitizen voting.