For Immediate Release: May 22, 2020
Contact: Ryan Hite, Communications Director
St. Louis, MO: On the final day of the legislative session in Missouri, lawmakers stripped vital electoral protections from a mail-in voting expansion bill (Senate Bill 631) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Phyllis Schlafly’s successor Ed Martin issued the following statement:
“Fundamental safeguards for voting and election integrity were removed from Senate Bill 631 before its final passage last week, and the results could be disastrous. An earlier version of this bill contained necessary safeguards against expanded early, absentee, and mail-in voting, but their removal has opened Missouri to a host of frightening problems.
“Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is charged with protecting Missouri’s election integrity, is right to express ‘grave concerns’ that this bill will wreak havoc on Missouri’s elections and voters. Governor Mike Parson should veto this bill quickly! Throughout the COVID crisis, his office has maintained a healthy respect for local control. This measure must be vetoed — it’s a strike against the civil liberties of all Missourians.”
Read Secretary Ashcroft’s full statement on SB 631 here.
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