A Dangerous Attempt to Silence American Voters: LWV Responds to President Trump’s Anti-Voter Executive Order

The League of Women Voters of the United States issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump's signed executive order, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” that threatens Americans’ freedom to vote and tramples states’ constitutional authority to run their own elections.

“Let’s keep it real: this order is not about protecting elections; it is about making it harder for voters — particularly women voters — to participate in them,” said Celina Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “This executive order is an assault on our republic and a dangerous attempt to silence American voters. The President continues to overstep his authority and brazenly disregard settled law in this country. To be very clear — the League of Women Voters is prepared to fight back and defend our democracy.  

“The President can’t unilaterally change election law,” said Marcia Johnson, Chief Counsel for the League of the Women Voters of the United States.

Read the rest of the statement HERE.

• Legislators listen more closely to constituents - if you are in their district, tell them
• Legislators are interested in personal stories about how the proposed legislation will affect you and your pocketbook - look at the summaries and talking points and think about how the bill will affect you and talk about that in your phone call, testimony or email
• Look at the whole list of Calls to Action and pick the most important to you - we will be responding for months to come - don't get overwhelmed in the first few weeks
  

The SAVE Act

Bill #:HR 22 (The SAVE Act)

LWVUS OPPOSES this bill

Short Description: This bill would require citizenship documentation to register to vote in federal elections

Status of the Bill: Referred to the house committee on house administration.

Talking points:  

• It is already illegal for non citizens to register and vote in federal and state elections
  

• The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. It also creates another barrier to voting

• Citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them

Link to the summary of the bill: HR 22

Call to action: Call your congress person using Find Your Congressperson HERE and tell them you OPPOSE the SAVE Act.

Citizen Initiative Petitions

Bill #: SS#2 SCS SB 22

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill (in the House)

Short Description: This bill would prohibit courts from re-writing summary statements on legislatively referred constitutional amendments. 

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Tuesday, April 1 at 8:00 AM in the House Elections Committee.

Talking points:  

• This bill removes the ability of citizens to challenge unconstitutional or misleading language in legislatively referred constitutional amendments by prohibiting courts from changing summary statements

• Missouri has a history of misleading summary statements that have been rectified only through action by courts

Link to the summary of the bill: SS#2 SCS SB 22

Call to action: Submit Testimony HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position:The League believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government. The League further believes that governmental bodies must protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings, and making public records accessible. (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024-2026,  p. 59)

Bill #: SB 485

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill

Short Description: This bill moves school board elections to the November general election.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 31 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• It would move school board elections to the November general election making school board elections potentially partisan and more expensive

• It could potentially discourage citizens from running due to the added cost and difficulty in communicating to voters in a busy election season

• The school board election would appear at the bottom of long ballots and many people don't vote all the way down the ballot

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 485

Call to action: Contact your Senator using the legislator look-up HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: The League supports public schools that have accountability and transparency in matters of governance, accreditation, and funding. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2023-2025, p. 54)

Bill #: HCS HBs 126 & 367

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill

Short Description: This act reinstates the presidential preference primary. 

Status of the Bill: Placed on the House Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 31 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:

• Voting happens anonymously by way of a secret ballot

• Primaries are run by state and local governments

• Primaries use state-controlled election procedures

• Process is a familiar one of official ballots and secure submission of vote   

• Bill is similar to HB 347 (2023) which was replaced by HB 267

Link to the summary of the bill: HCS HBs 126 & 367 

Call to action: Contact your Representative using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

LWV Position: Presidential Nominee Selection Process: The league supports open primaries rather than caucuses. (LWVMO Guide to State Action, p. 25)

Reproductive Rights

Bill #: HJR 54

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill

Short Description: This bill prohibits abortion except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape or incest, only if reported to law enforcement before 12 weeks and also prohibits child gender transitions care.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for Executive Session on Monday, March 31 at 12:00 PM in the House Children and Families Committee.

Talking points:  

• Missourians voted for The Reproductive Freedom amendment on November 5, 2024 to allow abortion up to fetal viability. This bill would overturn it 

• This bill dismisses majority rule and imposes the will of a minority

• Two of every three sexual assaults are not reported to police  (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and the Bureau of Justice Statistics)

• Research published last year (JAMA Internal Medicine) estimated that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, more than 65,500 women and girls in the 14 states with abortion bans in place became pregnant after being raped 

• This bill is in conflict with protections for medical professionals embedded in the Reproductive Freedom Amendment that voters approved by majority vote on Nov 5, 2024 (HB195)

Link to the summary of the bill: HJR 54

Call to action: Contact the House Children and Families Committee members HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: The League believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right to privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. At the 2024 Convention, delegates passed a resolution reaffirming the Leagues commitment to fight for reproductive rights and justice, including bodily autonomy, privacy, reproductive health, and access to contraception and abortion. (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024-2026, pp. 64-68)

Health Care

Bill #: HB 1095

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill

Short Description: This bill requires MO HealthNet coverage of doula services and childbirth education classes for pregnant women and a support person.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Tuesday, April 1 at 12:00 PM  in the House Health and Mental Health Committee.

Talking points: 

• Doulas can provide emotional and physical support to pregnant women

• Doula care is a proven, cost-effective means of reducing racial disparities in maternal health

• Doula care can improve health outcomes and lead to more satisfying birthing experiences

• All pregnant and postpartum people deserve access to full spectrum doula care    

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1095

Call to action: Submit Testimony HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

LWV Position: Every US resident should have access to affordable, quality health care, including birth control and the privacy to make reproductive choices (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024 - 2026, p. 157) 

Bill #: SB 567

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill

Short Description: This bill enacts provisions relating to insurance coverage for mental health treatment.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Tuesday, April 1 at 12:00 PM in the Senate Insurance Banking Committee.

Talking points:  

• Mental Health is just as important as physical health

• Follows the rules under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

• Provides parity of Mental Health benefits to medical surgical benefits

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 567

Call to action: Only in person testimony is allowed for Senate hearings. Contact members of the Senate Insurance and Banking Committee HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill. Click on the Senator’s picture to be taken to their individual page for their contact information.

LWV Position: Supports an adequately funded mental health care system that provides comprehensive services to the acutely, chronically, and seriously mentally ill of all ages. They support a Behavioral Health system which decreases dependency on costly emergency services, reduces rates of incarceration, supports healthy recovery, and strengthens families. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2023 - 2025, p. 35) 

Firearms

Bill #: SB 142

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill 

Short Description: This bill establishes an Anti-Red Flag prohibition against Extreme Risk Protection Orders so that courts could not order guns to be temporarily removed from suicidal persons or those potentially dangerous to others.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Monday, March 31 at 3:30 PM in the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee. 

Talking points:  

• Red Flag laws help to protect suicidal persons and potential victims of persons who are intent on harming others

• If every state had the gun death rates of those with the strongest gun laws, nearly 300,000 lives could be saved over the next decade (USA Today, 1/18/25)

• Red Flag laws contain important procedural safeguards to protect due process

• The Constitution does not require a wait time until after a suicide or homicide attempt is made to take protective measures

• After the Uvalde, TX school massacre in 2022, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt said  Red Flag laws could help prevent tragedies like this (Columbia Missourian, 5/25/2022)

• Even in states where Red Flag laws have been passed, they are not overused or abused. Between 2020 and 2022, orders were issued for only 10/100,000 persons. If anything, Red Flag laws are underutilized

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 142

Call to action: Only in person testimony is allowed for Senate hearings. Contact members of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety  Committee HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill. Click on the Senator’s picture to be taken to their individual page for their contact information.

Links to further reading: : https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-no-red-flag-laws-dont-violate-due-process-rights/

LWV Position: Protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons. Support regulation of firearms and ammunition for consumer safety. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2023-2025, p.60)

Social Justice

Bill #: SB 38

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill

Short Description: This bill creates the Missouri CROWN Act to prohibit certain discriminatory practices in educational institutions.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Monday, March 31 at 4:30 PM in the House Emerging Issues Committee.

Talking points: 

• Workplaces and schools are still able to discriminate against persons because of their natural or protective hairstyle

• Hair discrimination remains a source of racial injustice with serious economic consequences for Black people

• Black people in this country are shamed and punished for wearing hairstyles consistent with their natural hair

• Black Missourians are denied employment opportunities, unfairly targeted in education, and deprived of their dignity through dress code policies and concepts like ‘professionalism’ set by employers and institutions designed to discriminate against Black people

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 38 

Call to action: Submit Testimony HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

Links to further reading: MO has yet to pass the CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination;  When CROWN Acts stall in states

LWV Position: The League supports federal efforts to prevent and/or remove discrimination in education, employment, and housing and to help communities bring about racial integration of their school systems.

(LWVMO Guide to State Action 2023-2025, p.59)

Bill #: HB 847

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill

Short Description: This bill allows a person on probation or parole to vote, unless the person was convicted of a felony or misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Tuesday, April 2,at 4:30 PM in the House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee.

Talking points: 

• When we delay the restoration of voting rights until a term of probation or parole is complete – which can be years – this can mean that individuals who know best what helps and hinders their everyday lives are not always represented in state policymaking (Empower Missouri)

• If we expect people to reintegrate into our communities successfully, we must also provide them pathways to meaningful engagement (Empower Missouri)

• Missouri should join the other states that have taken steps to restore voting rights immediately after incarceration (Empower Missouri)

Link to the summary of the bill:  HB 847

Call to action: Submit Testimony HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

Links to further reading: 

Empower Missouri Testimony in Support of HB 617 - Restoring Voting Rights

Missouri Lawmaker Pushes Bill that Would Allow People on Probation and Parole to Vote

LWV Position: The League of Women Voters supports a criminal justice system that is just, effective, equitable, transparent, and that fosters public trust at all stages including policing practices, pre-trial procedures, sentencing, incarceration, and re-entry…A focus on humane treatment and rehabilitation with the goal of promoting the successful re-entry into communities for those who have been incarcerated. (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024 - 2026, p. 137)

Education

Bill #: SB 160 

This is FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Short Description: This bill prohibits public institutions of higher learning from discriminating against religious, political, or ideological associations.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Monday, March 31 at 4:30 PM in the House Emerging Issues Committee.

 Talking points:  

• Proposes an exemption for religious student organizations and other "belief based" student groups from non-discrimination policies in public higher education

• Could potentially be used to legitimize discriminatory practices

• This is not a First Amendment issue. Any student club can gain recognition and access funds by adhering to the school's nondiscrimination policy

• Clubs that choose to impose membership and leadership requirements conflicting with the school policy, will not be silenced or expelled from campus; they will simply not receive official recognition and funding

• The MO NAACP is in favor of the bill only as perfected in the Senate

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 160

Links to further reading: 

HERE & HERE

Voting Rights

Bill #: HJR 23 & 3

This is FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Short Description: Subject to voter approval, the Missouri constitution would be amended to require the Jackson County assessor to be elected as is required for all other charter counties in Missouri.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing on Monday, March 31 at 2:00 PM in the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee.

 Talking points:  

• Supporters say the assessor position in Jackson County should be elected as is the case for all other charter counties in Missouri 

• Some have voiced concern that this issue should be decided by Jackson County voters rather than by a statewide vote 

Link to the summary of the bill: HJR 23

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