Missouri House Fails to Pass Bill Reinstating Presidential Primary

A man waves an American flag as he walks outside the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City, Mo., on Jan. 20, 2021. Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

A bill that would have reinstated Missouri’s presidential primary failed to pass in the state House of Representatives on April 26.

State Rep. Rudy Veit, a Republican, told The Epoch Times that his bill was written to restore the presidential primary that was eliminated last year.

“I strongly believe that people should have the right to vote,” Veit said. “Most people will not participate in a caucus and a presidential primary will get much broader support.”

Despite both Republicans and Democrats in favor of returning to the presidential primary, Veit said there were last-minute challenges among lawmakers.

“I’m trying to do what I can to get a vote to reconsider so we can have a bill that everybody can agree on,” Veit said.

If Veit can recruit 30 supporters, he can call for another vote.

The bill got 65 votes in support. Fifty-six representatives from both parties voted in opposition. Thirty-one Democrats voted “present,” and 10 others didn’t vote, the Columbia Missourian reported.

The House gave initial approval on April 17. Since then, House members debated details such as rules about how close election signs and literature should be kept from polling places.

Primaries Favored Over Caucuses

The chairmen for Missouri’s Republican and Democrat parties—Nick Myers and Russ Carnahan, respectively—spoke in favor of the bill, according to the Columbia Missourian.

“I think the primaries are popular and, frankly, caucuses exclude a lot of people from being able to participate,” Carnahan said after the vote, adding that if officials want more trust and engagement in the electoral process, presidential primaries are the path forward to establishing that trust.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, a Democrat, said there were problems with the amendments such as the date of the proposed primary being changed from March to April.

The bill was amended to establish that the primary would take place on “the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April.”

The amendment was proposed by Rep. Michael O’Donnell, a Republican, with the stated intent to save money and increase participation in the April municipal elections.

However, Rep. Peggy McGaugh, a Republican, argued that holding both elections at the same time would raise concerns because a voter would have to request a party ballot to vote in nonpartisan municipal elections, though O’Donnell said the same candidates would be on every ballot and that nonpartisan elections would continue to be nonpartisan.

Frequent Changes

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the state has frequently changed how it selects presidential candidates.

Missouri used caucuses in 1992 and 1996 but has used presidential primaries since 2000.

Lawmakers approved a plan in 1986 to hold a presidential primary in 1988 to promote then-U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt, a Democrat, who was running for president.

In 1998, lawmakers passed a bill to hold the presidential primary every four years, which was signed into law by former Gov. Mel Carnahan, a Democrat.

In 2020, President Joe Biden won 60 percent of the vote in the Missouri Democrat presidential primary, while former President Donald Trump won 97 percent of the Republican primary, carrying the state in the general election.

In 2022, the Missouri Legislature passed an election reform bill that, in addition to prohibiting the use of electronic voting machines after 2024 and requiring voter ID, replaced the presidential primary with the caucus, according to the News Tribune.

Veit said at the time he supported the election bill but opposed the removal of the presidential primary.

“I think there’s a grave mistake to telling Missourians that we don’t care what their opinion is on a presidential primary,” Veit told the News Tribune. “We want the people’s input on who our presidential candidates are. This is not a country where we tell you, ‘Here’s who you can vote for.’”