A priority for one Republican Secretary of State contender is preventing noncitizens from voting in Missouri.
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, drew a hardline stance, saying that Missouri needs to do a better job preventing them from casting a ballot. Federal law states that noncitizens cannot vote, but Coleman said it’s a bit more nuanced than that.
“Actually, our state constitution says that state citizens are able to vote,” she said. “It makes it abundantly clear that citizens are allowed to vote, but it doesn’t say that that, you know, the flipside of that, which is only citizens can vote. So, saying that all citizens can vote is not the same thing as saying only citizens can vote.”
Lawmakers passed an elections-related constitutional amendment during the legislative session requiring only U.S. citizens and residents of Missouri can vote in Missouri elections. That measure will appear on the November ballot.
“We have, according to Gov. Parson, 77,000 illegals in the state of Missouri,” said Coleman. “There is no process in place to verify our voter rolls. We have got to do a better job. There are illegals voting in six states across the country, some by invitation.”
She argued that there aren’t many restrictions to register to vote in Missouri.
“You fill out a form and you check a box that says I’m a citizen,” she said. “If you don’t have your Social Security number, maybe because you don’t have one, you can leave that section blank. If you don’t have your driver’s license, you can leave that section blank. There is a penalty associated with lying on this form, but somebody who has lied to enter the country illegally probably isn’t super concerned about committing yet another felony.”
Republican Jay Ashcroft is Missouri’s secretary of state. His office is in charge of verifying the authenticity of voter registration forms.
Coleman is running in the August 6th Republican primary against fellow Sen. Denny Hoskins, House Speaker Dean Plocher, State Rep. Adam Schwadron, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, activist Jamie Corley, and attorneys Mike Carter and Valentina Gomez.
Three Democrats are running for Secretary of State: State Rep. Barbara Phifer of St. Louis; Monique Williams, a former auditor with the State Auditor’s office and the city of St. Louis; and Haley Jacobson, a registered nurse in St. Louis. One Libertarian is in the race: Carl Herman Freese of Foristell.
Click here to listen to the entire interview.
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