Missouri voters need to be safe as 2021 elections draw near (Posted Dec. 15, 2020)
The League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri has joined with the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition in a campaign to persuade Gov. Mike Parson to extend Missouri’s COVID-19 safe voting provisions into 2021.
Missouri’s COVID voting provisions are set to expire Dec. 31. These measures, signed into law by Gov. Parson in June, allow absentee voting by those who have or are at high risk for COVID and provide remote voting options for all Missouri voters.
Across the state, municipal elections will be held in March and April. Rising COVID numbers recently prompted Gov. Parson to extend Missouri’s State of Emergency into 2021. This included extension of a number of statutory waivers but did not address voting access.
With Missouri experiencing record transmissions and deaths due to COVID and likely facing even worse outcomes in the coming winter months, the League of Women Voters and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition are pushing for an extension of the safe voting provisions to ensure all Missourians can vote safely.
“Missourians need to keep safe voting options during the pandemic,” said Joan Gentry, voter services chair for the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri. “When Gov. Parson signed Missouri’s COVID voting provisions into law in June, he stated, ‘Any Missourian affected by COVID-19 should still be able to vote.’ Missouri’s voters need the governor to make good on that promise.”
The League is asking citizens to sign a petition to Gov. Parson and share the petition with friends and family. Sponsored by the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, the petition is found here.
Voters are also asked to phone their elected officials stressing the importance of this extension. Contact information for both state representatives and state senators is located here.