Barry Hovis' House bill seeks flexibility for absentee ballots

A bill has been introduced by state Rep. Barry Hovis of District 146 in Whitewater with a difficult-to-understand title — "Allows for the curing of absentee ballot envelopes" — but a comprehensible rationale.

Hovis, who introduced House Bill 1184 on Feb. 16, was inspired by similar legislation put in the hopper by state Sen. Jason Bean — whose District 25 takes in 10 Southeast Missouri counties. Hovis said the purpose behind his bill is straightforward even if the name on the bill is hard to comprehend.

"If there is a simple mistake on the ballot envelope by someone filing absentee, there should be an opportunity to correct, or 'cure,' the error so the vote is counted," Hovis said.

Hovis explains the measure would require county election clerks to try to contact those voters who submitted a ballot with mistakes on the envelope and offer a time-limited chance to correct them.

Under current state statute, section 115.295 RsMO, if any statement on any ballot envelope received by county clerks hasn't been completed, the ballot "shall be rejected."

Hovis said he thinks in the case of a simple mistake, such as failing to sign the ballot envelope, county clerks should do a bit more in order to ensure a vote is counted by reaching out to the voter directly.

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Kara Clark Summers

Kara Clark Summers

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said if the bill becomes law, Cape Girardeau County should be able to handle the additional work.

Summers, however, does think Hovis' bill would put a burden on larger counties, such as Greene, Jackson and St. Louis, which see a much greater volume of absentee ballots.

"(The bill) says we clerks 'shall' reach out to the voter and this might put a burden on counties with thousands of absentees coming in and not having adequate staffing to follow up," Summers said. "We can try to get in touch with voters and they might not call us back. When we do make contact, we have a deadline to meet in order to count the ballot."

Summers, current chairwoman of Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities, said the panel has not taken a position on either Hovis' bill or Bean's legislation, known as Senate Bill 210.

Hovis' bill had not been assigned to committee at presstime, while Bean's measure was due to be heard Monday, Feb. 27, by the Senate Local Government and Election Committee.