A GOP state rep has introduced legislation that conservatives argue will blur the lines between Democrat and Republican political candidates and further a transition to ranked-choice voting.
Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton) is sponsoring House Bill 781, which will repeal House Bill 1878 by removing party affiliation on voter registration applications and voter identification cards.
“Taking away a voter's right to declare a party affiliation really is a violation of the fundamental right to express their political beliefs and opinions and it would limit the ability of the political parties also to connect with voters, understand their needs, and mobilize them to participate in a republic,” said Byron Keelin, president of Freedom Principle MO.
Currently, Missouri voters have the option to register with a political party or as unaffiliated, which was established by HB 1878 last year.
“It will be harder for county central committee people and for election judges to determine who's a true Republican and who's a true Democrat, which will water down our candidates,” Keelin said about HB 781.
HB 1878, approved last year, is the subject of two lawsuits filed by the League of Women Voters of Missouri and the Missouri Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People because it requires a photo ID to vote and bans ballot drop boxes.
Keelin argues that removing party affiliation will muddy the waters between political parties making ranked choice voting easier to establish statewide.
“Peggy McGaugh says she introduced HB 781 because the county clerks are overworked,” Keelin told the St. Louis Record. “She's a former county clerk, and I think she's just carrying the water for the Missouri County Clerk's Association, which gets a lot of sponsorship dollars from voting machine companies, instead of standing up for the Republican party platform, which calls for closed primaries.”
McGaugh did not respond to request for comment.
The bill would also include the dissemination of an election official's personal information or their family's with the intent to harass, intimidate, or influence the performance of their duties on the list of class one election offenses.
“It's a flat-out violation of the First Amendment,” said Linda Rantz, a co-organizer of Missouri Canvassers. “That is silencing the grassroots because you basically live in fear that if you say something publicly or in a tweet that somehow was taken the wrong way, they could accuse you of doxing.”
Missouri Canvassers is associated with Mike Lindell, who unsuccessfully campaigned to be elected chair of the National Republican Committee last month.
Doxing is the practice of posting or publishing an individual's personal information on the internet.
“Doxing is what the world is doing and it's ridiculous to put it into Missouri State law that way," Rantz told the St. Louis Record. "None of that information she's talking about is protected by the First Amendment.”
The bill also provides that a government entity does not have to register with the Secretary of State in order to solicit voter registration applications.