© 2024 KRCU Public Radio
90.9 Cape Girardeau | 88.9-HD Ste. Genevieve | 88.7 Poplar Bluff
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local business leaders, politicians, experts and scientists.All are fair game on KRCU's Going Public.Join us for interviews and features that matter to you on KRCU's Going Public.

Kander Backs Early Voting Bill

Missouri Secretary of State's office

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is backing a bill in the Missouri House that would expand early voting options in the Show Me State.

Representative Myron Neth introduced the bill last week.

The bill includes provisions to allow voters to cast ballots by mail without needing to state an excuse, or vote early on voting equipment at a central location. The bill creates satellite voting locations during November Presidential elections.

Kander said the recommendations were drawn up by a bipartisan early voting commission.

“They felt strongly that this should not an unfunded mandate on local election authorities,” Kander said. “So we took that into consideration and not only did we make the bill affordable, but if it’s not funded by the state, then the counties don’t have to comply with the law at all.”

Kander said early voting provides convenience and help rural voters who live far from the place they vote.

“For instance, I have somebody who works for me whose parents live 22 miles from their polling location. If you have very bad weather, for instance, on Election Day, there’s a good chance that’s they’re not going to have the opportunity to vote because they only had one day to have a shot at it. So it makes a lot of sense to make sure that more people have the opportunity to exercise that fundamental right in every part of the state,” Kander said.

Missouri is one of 15 states that does not have some form of no excuse absentee voting or early voting. 

 KKander says Missouri voters have to wait 26 minutes on average to cast their ballots. Only four states have longer average wait times.