Parts of Missouri’s anti-voter law H.B. 1878 will remain permanently blocked after a judge issued an order in late November. The ruling permanently blocks the enforcement of several provisions of Missouri’s H.B. 1878, which criminalized certain voter engagement activities and assistance with absentee ballot applications conducted by civic engagement groups.
CLC, along with American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU MO) and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC) challenged the restrictions on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Missouri (LWVMO) and Missouri State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Missouri NAACP)
The law imposed severe restrictions on basic voter outreach and assistance efforts, backed by serious criminal sanctions. The judge agreed these provisions violated civic engagement groups’ right to core political speech by severely curtailing their ability to engage with voters and hampering their ability to spread their pro-voter message.
The court further determined that the challenged provisions are impermissibly vague, failing to give notice of what conduct is actually prohibited.
The lawsuit specifically challenged provisions in the law that prohibit compensating people for voter registration activities and mandate that anyone who assists with more than ten voter registration applications — which happens regularly at community engagement events — must be a registered voter and must register with the state or be subject to criminal penalties.
Additionally, the law prohibits "soliciting” a voter into obtaining an absentee ballot application, which denied eligible Missourians the help they needed to vote in a secure and convenient way. In fact, the law’s language is so vague that the ban on “soliciting” absentee ballot applications could be used to criminalize a volunteer who tells a voter that will be out of town on Election Day that they can vote absentee.
Failing to comply with these strict and confusing prohibitions could have put innocent volunteers on the wrong side of the law and, in Missouri, violating election laws could mean losing the freedom to vote for life.
Additionally, anti-voter laws historically have had a disproportionate impact on Black voters. With this ruling, which recognized that the work of engaging voters in our democracy is protected by the Missouri Constitution, civic engagement groups will be able to assist the voters who are most affected by H.B. 1878 moving forward.
The law has been blocked since November 2022 and will remain permanently blocked. It is a relief that organizations like the LWV MO and the Missouri NAACP will be able to continue their critical work without fear of criminal prosecution.