JEFFERSON CITY – Today, Senator Robert F. (Bob) Onder, Jr., and Representative Paul Curtman issued a joint press release following the recent Presidential Primary election in Missouri.
“Tuesday’s primary election results were extremely close,” said Senator Onder. “While the likelihood that a recount be requested is high, the ability to get accurate results from that recount is in question. Approximately eighty percent of the votes in St. Louis County and twenty percent of the statewide votes were cast electronically, thereby meaning that there is no voter verified record to be used in a recount. The hand-marked paper ballot is the only method that provides an auditable record of a voter’s actual intent.”
Two candidates on Tuesday’s ballot were within the margin allowed to request a recount in Missouri. Current law states that a candidate who loses by less than one-half of one percent may request a recount in writing but only after the state’s vote is certified. At this point, votes will not likely be certified until after April thereby meaning potential recount results are likely over a month away.
“There is nothing more sacred in the American political process than our vote,” said Rep. Paul Curtman. “The idea that we can’t account for each and every individual vote should a recount be necessary, fosters distrust in our political process. Each and every voter should have faith in the integrity of our election process and no voter should ever have a reason to doubt that their vote was counted.”
Representative Curtman and Senator Onder have filed identical bills in each chamber to require that paper ballots be used for elections. The House bill, HB 1778, has gone through the standing committee on Elections and is currently awaiting a vote in the select committee on State and Local Governments in the House and the Senate bill, SB 771, has gone through the committee on Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections in the Senate.
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