JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Battlefield, is proud to announce that election integrity legislation was passed by the Missouri Senate on Monday, May 9. House Bill 1878 includes provisions that require a photo ID to vote; allow the secretary of state to audit the voter registration records of any election authority to ensure accuracy; and require that all electronic ballot tabulation machines are “air-gapped,” meaning they are not connected to the internet, to help prevent hacking or other interference.
During debate, Sen. Burlison added an amendment to the bill to limit the type of “in-kind” donations election authorities may receive to personal protective equipment, water, locations where an election may be conducted and food for an election authority or election authority staff, election judges, watchers and challengers. Additionally, the legislation requires each election authority to allow for a cyber security review of their office every two years by the secretary of state or other entity that specializes in cyber security.
“After the chaos and uncertainty of the 2020 election, it was imperative that we tighten election laws in Missouri to further secure our elections,” Sen. Burlison said. “I filed a similar bill this session, so I am thrilled my fellow legislators share my concerns when it comes to preserving the integrity of our elections. We need to regain the trust of Missourians that every election is fair and free, and I believe this bill accomplishes that goal.”
The Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft added, “I want to thank Sen. Eric Burlison for working with my office to create strong cyber security protections in this bill and to eliminate ‘Zuckerbucks’ from corrupting our election process. A secure and fair election process is essential to our state.”
The legislation still needs another round of approval from the Missouri House of Representatives before it can be sent to the governor for his consideration.
Please visit Sen. Burlison’s official Missouri Senate website for more information on his legislative agenda at senate.mo.gov/Burlison.