State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued the closeout audit of the Coronado Drive Transportation Development District (TDD), located in Blue Springs. State law requires an audit of a TDD prior to moving forward with dissolution. The Coronado Drive TDD was established in 2009 by a vote of qualified voters in the district. The TDD was […]
(Missouri Independent) – A six-week abortion ban in Texas enacted in September forced those seeking abortion services in the Lone Star State to look across state lines for care. But the timing couldn’t have been worse for Texans living near the state’s eastern border. The law took effect as neighboring Louisiana was reeling from the […]
(Missouri Independent) – A federal judge last week permanently blocked Missouri from enforcing a requirement that medical marijuana licenses go to businesses owned by residents of the state. Following a bench trial Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey agreed to grant a permanent injunction. Her written order has not yet been filed. News of the injunction […]
(Missouri Independent) – Roughly 4,300 Missourians eligible for health care under Medicaid expansion have been enrolled, a top Missouri Medicaid official said Thursday. That figure represents a little over a quarter of the more than 17,000 applications the state has received since it began accepting applications for Medicaid expansion coverage in August, the Centers for […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Attorney General Garland slamming their decision to publish a memo that directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice to work with federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially prosecute parents who show up to school board meetings to […]
Missourians have a little more than a month until open enrollment for healthcare coverage at healthcare.gov, and medical experts say it’s important to understand your options to get the best plan for your needs. More than 215,000 Missouri residents are enrolled in coverage. But Michelle Davis Reed, eligibility and enrollment coordinator with Northwest Health Services […]
(Missouri Independent) – Making people who want to force a statewide vote on newly passed laws wait while the Secretary of State writes a ballot title undermines the constitutional right of referendum, attorneys for an abortion-rights group argued Wednesday to the Missouri Supreme Court. A ballot title was “not necessary for most of Missouri history,” […]
(Missouri Independent) – Activists are ramping up the pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to move on his chamber’s version of a voting rights bill, even though there’s no sign there will be enough Republican support to advance it. Alternatively, they’re pressing for an end to the filibuster, though there’s no indication there would […]
As lawmakers in Congress work to expand access to voting, members of the Missouri Legislature are proposing laws their critics say would limit people’s ability to vote. State legislative committees on elections convened last week to discuss measures that would impose a stricter voter ID law, require election officials to purge voter rolls more frequently, and others. Luz […]
There is no federal or statewide race this fall, but Iowa voters in many cities will still head to the polls for municipal and school elections and county auditors hope they are informed about sweeping changes the state adopted this year dealing with voting. In March, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill, which, among other things, reduces […]
(Missouri Independent) – With several months to go before state lawmakers return for the 2022 legislative session, Republicans are promising to once again push to require photo identification to vote. Committees in the Missouri House and Senate held hearings Tuesday dominated by discussions of requiring a government-issued ID for both in-person and absentee voting. Secretary […]
(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the legislation to the floor […]
After releasing the findings of a voter fraud investigation involving two St. Charles County voters, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft went on record to make clear his intentions regarding voter integrity by announcing his plan to keep voting secure and accurate in upcoming Missouri elections while making sure no voter is turned away from the […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced today the results of a citizen-initiated audit of the Marshall Public Schools in Saline County. Galloway announced in February that a petition of qualified voters within the Marshall School District boundary triggered an audit by her office. The report, which gives a rating of “fair,” makes several recommendations to improve accounting controls and […]
A report from State Auditor Nicole Galloway finds that Monroe City has implemented some recommendations from a 2020 audit, but that other concerns remain. The June 2020 audit of Monroe City was initiated through a citizen petition, which required 200 valid signatures of qualified voters in the city. That audit highlighted concerns in several areas, including city […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorneys who successfully sued to force Missouri to enact voter-approved Medicaid expansion argued in a letter to state officials Thursday that delays in implementation violate not only the court order but also federal law. The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Chuck Hatfield and Lowell Pearson joined with Joel Ferber, director of advocacy for Legal Services […]
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft released the findings from an investigation pertaining to individuals who allegedly voted more than once in the 2020 general elections. Based on probable cause statements issued by Ashcroft’s office, two individuals, both of St. Charles County, voted at least twice using mail-in ballots sent to Florida and then voted in-person […]
The Jamesport Tri-County Board of Education has approved a property tax levy totaling nearly 4.33 cents on the 100 dollars of assessed valuation, which is a decline of slightly over 23 cents on the 100 dollars compared to 2020. The breakdown of this year’s levy shows the regular rate at nearly 4.08 on the 100 […]
(Missouri Independent) – At the base of the bridge in Selma, Ala., where the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia almost died while marching for civil rights, congressional Democrats announced Tuesday the introduction of legislation that aims to protect voting rights across the country. Rep. Terri Sewell, an Alabama Democrat, unveiled what will be […]
A new report finds Missouri lags behind many other states in voting access. The Campaign Legal Center graded states on whether they have 10 key voting practices, from no-excuse absentee voting to online tracking of mail-in ballots and ballot drop boxes. Missouri received a score of four out of 10. Denise Lieberman, director of the […]
