Voting Rights/Elections

Bill #: HB 1871

LWVMO SUPPORTS

Short Description: This bill increases the no excuse absentee (early ) voting period from two weeks to four weeks and also reinstates the presidential primary.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for Executive Session on Tuesday, January 20 at 11:00 AM in the House Elections Committee.

Talking points:  

• Early voting facilitates voter participation 

• It reduces stress on election workers and makes elections less vulnerable to disruption 

• A presidential primary encourages greater participation as voters can access primaries over longer voting periods while caucuses have a limited window for participation and have seen low turnout

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1871

Call to action: Email committee members and tell them you SUPPORT this bill. Members of the House Elections Committee are found HERE. Click on the representative’s picture and you will be taken to their information page for their contact information.

LWV Position: Support no-excuse absentee voting either by mail or in person, advance voting and measures that facilitate participation in the election process and expand all forms of early voting and work to reduce election administration stress and Support open primaries for all primary elections. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2025-2027, page 7)

Reproductive Rights

Bill #: HB 1667 and HB 2294

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Establishes the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" mandating same rights, privileges and immunities as any other person and requires action to preserve life when a fetus is born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the House Children and Families Committee on Tuesday, January 20 at 10:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• These bills are a conflict with protections for medical professionals embedded in the Reproductive Freedom Amendment that voters approved by a majority vote on November 5, 2024

• They inject the state into decisions on medical care without taking into account non-viable pregnancies

• They deny the mother's right to hold and comfort her infant after birth until it dies following an abortion or birth of a fetus with a medical condition doomed to fetal demise

• Abortion care is a part of evidence-based reproductive healthcare and includes decisions between the clinicians and patients using best medical evidence

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1667 and HB 2294

Call to action: Submit testimony to OPPOSE HB 1667 and HB 2294 HERE. Make sure to mark “in Opposition to” under reason in the testimony form. 

LWV Position: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. At the 2024 Convention, delegates passed a resolution reaffirming the League’s 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, p. 64-68)

Education

Bill #: HB 1607

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Modifies guidelines for student participation in athletic contests organized by sex.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the House Emerging Issues Committee on Tuesday, January 20 at 4:30 PM.

Talking points:  

• They argue these bans discriminate on the basis of sex, contravening Title IX's mandate for equal opportunity in education and sports

• The LWV points to research showing sports participation boosts self-esteem and reduces depression, benefits denied by bans, potentially increasing distress for trans youth

• They note that proponents of bans often lack evidence of widespread unfairness, with some laws targeting individuals based on stereotypes rather than actual competitive advantage, according to LWV blog

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1607

Call to action: Submit testimony to OPPOSE HB 1607 HERE. Make sure to mark “in Opposition to” under reason in the testimony form.

Links to further reading: Anti-LGBTQIA+ State Legislative Trends

LWV Position: LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice to all persons regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2025-2027, p 56)

Health Care

Bill #: HJR 154

LWVMO OPPOSES 

Short Description: Constitution Amendment would require the Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division to implement work requirements for applicable individuals, as defined in the bill.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for Executive Session in the House Tuesday, January 20, at 12:00 PM in the Legislative Review Committee.

Talking points:  

• The American Academy of Family Physicians has long opposed Medicaid work requirements, which limit patient care, increase administrative complexity and medical debt for patients

• Those who can't work, don't earn enough, or where no jobs are available, should have the right to income and/or services to meet basic needs

• This bill reduces the number of people on Medicaid by making the work requirements so onerous that people give up

• The bureaucratic paperwork involved is a deterrent to those trying to comply

• States that have adopted this show much drop off in people who really do qualify failing to obtain help, and the costs to the state to implement are high as well as being complicated enough to cause problems for state employees

Link to the summary of the bill: HJR 154

Call to action: Email committee members and tell them you OPPOSE this bill. Members of the House Legislative Review Committee are found HERE. Click on the representative’s picture and you will be taken to their information page for their contact information. 

LWV Position: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that one of the goals of social policy in the United States should be to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families and that the most-effective social programs are those designed to prevent or reduce poverty. Persons who are unable to work, whose earnings are inadequate, or for whom jobs are not available have the right to an income and/or services sufficient to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, and access to health care. (LWV 2024-2026 Impact on Issues Pages 170-171)