An effort is underway to change the way Missourians select candidates on an election ballot for statewide, legislative, and Congressional races. Petition signatures are being gathered to ask voters later this year if they support ranking their top four primary election candidate choices of any party. The four finalists – regardless of party – would […]
Tag: voting
No signs of support for Greitens in Missouri county where abuse charges will be heard
(Missouri Independent) – A smattering of giggles greeted the name of former Gov. Eric Greitens Friday evening when emcee Branden Rathert called for the U.S. Senate candidates invited to speak at Boone County Republican Lincoln Days to come forward. Up to that point, there had been no trace of Greitens or his campaign at the […]
Grundy County Clerk reports 63 absentee ballots returned, 26 requested for the April 5th Municipal Election
Sixty-three absentee ballots for the April 5 Municipal Election had been returned to the Grundy County Clerk’s Office as of 10:30 am Friday, April 1st. Another 26 ballots had been requested but not yet returned to the county clerk’s office. The Grundy County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse in Trenton will be open on April […]
Missouri Senate congressional redistricting plan stalls on return to the House
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri House members are not ready to accept the congressional redistricting map approved by the state Senate. The House met Monday without voting on the Senate plan, approved Thursday at the end of a Senate session that lasted almost 24 hours. State Rep. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial and chairman of the House Redistricting Committee, […]
Emily Hartley appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Advisory Committee for Missouri
Emily Hartley, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council Deputy Director, was appointed to the Missouri Advisory Committee by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, effective Feb. 18, 2022. Advisory Committees have recently examined water affordability, school discipline disparities, policing practices, mental health and the criminal justice system, legal financial obligations, fair housing, hate crimes, voting rights, maternal […]
U.S. Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to start today
(Missouri Independent) – After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin today (Monday). Members of the panel will question Jackson for […]
Trenton City Council repeals breed-specific dog ban after overriding Mayor’s veto
It took two votes before the Trenton City Council approved an ordinance to repeal the ban on specific breeds of dogs, including pit bulls and pit bull mix. The council adopted budgets for the city of Trenton and Trenton Municipal Utilities for the next fiscal year, and the council, in effect, took no action on […]
Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]
North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees hear reports, work continues on former US Bank building
Multiple reports were given at the North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees meeting February 22nd. Vice President of Student Affairs Doctor Kristen Alley reported NCMC’s graduation rate is 42%, and the withdrawal rate is 39%. NCMC is the only community college in the state to have a higher graduation rate than a withdrawal rate. […]
Absentee ballots now available for April 5th Municipal Election
Absentee ballots are available for the April 5th Municipal Election at the county clerk’s offices in Grundy and Livingston counties. Absentee voting may be done during regular hours. The Grundy County Clerk’s Office in the courthouse in Trenton will be open for absentee voting on April 2nd from 8 o’clock to noon. The Livingston County […]
State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases
Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]
Disability advocates say to focus on accessibility in voting reforms
Experts say Missouri ranks low among states when it comes to steps it has taken to improve accessibility in voting. Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which has a disability-rights committee, said people with disabilities face barriers at all stages of the voting process, from registering to vote to […]
Livingston County to test voting equipment
Automatic voting equipment will be tested at the Livingston County Clerk’s Office in the courthouse in Chillicothe to comply with Missouri statutes. Absentee voting equipment will be tested on March 1st at 10 a.m. Other automatic voting equipment will be tested on March 30th at 10 a.m. Representatives of political parties, the news media, candidates, […]
American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
Criticism of Missouri medical marijuana system seeps into initiative petition debate
(Missouri Independent) – A handful of Republican lawmakers lashed out at the state’s medical marijuana industry Thursday, lobbing accusations of corruption into a Missouri House debate over whether to make it harder to amend the state’s Constitution. On a mostly party-line 98-53 vote, the Missouri House signed off on legislation Thursday that would require a two-thirds […]
Missouri House refuses to accept Governor Parson’s plan for $15 base pay for state jobs
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House approved a $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday that would give all state workers a pay raise. But lawmakers refused to go along with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for a $15 an hour base wage for all state employees, instead offering that salary only to select workers. The bill would also […]
Grundy County Soil and Water Conservation District holding supervisor election
The Grundy County Soil and Water Conservation District is holding a supervisor election. David Meservey is running for Area 2, and Jared Lamma is running for Area 4. Both would be for four-year terms. Ballots can be found on the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation website. They can be mailed to the Grundy County Soil […]
Missouri Secretary of State will enforce the law on ranked choice voting initiative petition
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft reiterated that his office will not be swayed from following the law and the Missouri Constitution with regard to certifying initiative petitions. On Friday, January 28, Ashcroft’s office received service of a lawsuit filed by David Roland – who has submitted numerous initiative petitions to the secretary of state’s office […]
Senate committee advances ‘6-2’ Missouri Congressional map
(Missouri Independent) – A new Congressional map won the approval of a Missouri Senate committee on Tuesday, setting the stage for a debate that promises to be among the most contentious of the 2022 legislative session. After two hours of public testimony, a pair of Democrats joined with seven Republicans Tuesday to advance a map […]
With voting rights stalled, some senators mull an update to the Electoral Count Act
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan group of senators is exploring legislation to overhaul how Congress counts Electoral College votes, but backers of stalled voting rights legislation are lukewarm on the effort as a substitute. The Electoral Count Act is an obscure law that has come under recent scrutiny, a year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. […]