At the Missouri Capitol, lawmakers are debating a State House bill that would restore the Secretary of State’s investigative and subpoena powers for election fraud cases — a tool the office lost when it expired last August.
Representative Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, is the bill’s sponsor. He said no matter which party holds the office, the Secretary of State should have this power.
“This is very important to create a transparent legal process within our state,” said Banderman. “And if there’s a credible complaint, the Secretary of State’s Office, no matter who that might be, no matter what party, should have the ability to get the information when they feel like the complaint is credible. If it’s frivolous, they shouldn’t pursue it. And we have guardrails on what frivolous is.”
But David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, said he doesn’t support restoring it.
“Right now where we are, I do not want to empower any of these state offices anymore,” said Smith. “And especially when you talk about election, which has been really the hot topic the last few years with complaints about stolen elections, going back and forth. I can’t support empowering a Secretary of State’s office with more power.”
The bill also makes several administrative updates, including extending certain business‑filing fees through 2031, adding citizenship‑status checks to voter registration data, and making small technical corrections to election‑complaint procedures.
For more information on HB 2125, click here
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