JEFFERSON CITY聽鈥 An attempt to reinstate the state鈥檚 presidential preference primary election for 2024 stumbled in the Senate Thursday.
A year after Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft successfully lobbied lawmakers to eliminate the so-called beauty contest because of administrative costs, the House signed off on a compromise to restore the election.
But the push ran into a buzz saw in the Senate, where the sponsor stripped out the presidential primary language with just a day to go before the Legislature adjourns.聽聽
The House plan called for the primary to be held in March on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month.
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鈥淚 do think that a lot of our voters want to be able to vote in presidential primaries,鈥 said Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, who sponsored the measure.
But a number of controversial provisions raised questions over whether the proposal could advance.
One sticking point was language forcing voters to declare a party affiliation before casting a vote.
Democrats argued the maneuver would squelch turnout.
鈥淭his, I think, will discourage voting,鈥 said Rep. Steve Butz, D-狐狸视频.
Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, said there are many independent voters in swing districts like hers in 狐狸视频 County who may not want to declare for the presidential race.
鈥淭his could be really concerning for people,鈥 McCreery said.聽
Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, also worried that holding the election in March could put pressure on election authorities who also must prepare for local elections in April.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate how the process has worked,鈥 Beck said. 鈥淚 have issues across the board.鈥
In addition, the House and Senate stripped $10 million out of the recently approved budget that was earmarked to pay county clerks for administering the election.
In arguing to end the presidential primary, Ashcroft, a Republican who is running for governor in 2024, said the election is only for show because closed party caucuses actually decide how delegates are awarded in the race for the White House.
In caucuses, members of established political parties meet and divide into groups according to which candidate they want to win. The number of voters in each group decides how many delegates each candidate wins.
But in-person caucuses could potentially leave many people out of the process, including people serving overseas in the military, first responders and parents with young children.
In addition, some opponents said residents in rural areas may not have access to facilities required to hold caucuses.
Party leaders on both sides of the aisle earlier called on lawmakers to approve the switch in order to include as many people as possible in the election process because caucuses are typically not as popular as standard elections at familiar polling places.
The legislation is