Early vote may not be legally required, judge says

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While acknowledging a state law related to the matter is vague, a Cole County circuit judge indicated that it may not require Missouri election officials to offer an early voting period prior to the Nov. 2 general elections.

Judge Richard Callahan heard arguments Thursday in a case brought by St. Louis city and other parties claiming an elections overall bill passed by the Missouri Legislature in 2002 mandates early voting during a presidential election cycle. Secretary of State Matt Blunt, the target of the lawsuit, maintains the bill merely directed local election officials to develop early voting plans but stopped short of allowing implementation.

Callahan, who will issue a decision at a later date, noted an explicit authorization of early voting appeared in the original draft of the bill but was dropped from the final version signed into law by Gov. Bob Holden.

"I'm inclined to find ambiguity in the statute," Callahan said. "But when looking at the legislative history, it seems to me that ambiguity is resolved against the plaintiffs' position."

However, Callahan told the plaintiffs' attorneys the language of the law does leave some room for interpretation.

"In fairness to you, I have never quite seen a bill that establishes a plan that doesn't go anywhere," Callahan said.

Robert Heggie, an attorney representing some Missouri lawmakers who support St. Louis' position, said the legislative history of the bill is "somewhat murky" and urged Callahan to disregard it in his deliberations and instead focus on the actual wording of the law as enacted.

"The clear language requires that all election authorities enact an early voting period," Heggie said.

Heggie noted the law makes it a crime for someone to cast a ballot during the early voting period and vote again on Election Day. If the legislature didn't mandate early voting, Heggie said it made no sense for it to outlaw double voting.

Assistant attorney general Paul Wilson, who is representing Blunt, said the criminal provision is irrelevant as the legislature routinely outlaws future conduct that may or may not occur.

Wilson also said the legislative history is germane to the case in that it demonstrates lawmakers abandoned the idea of immediately authorizing early voting in favor of instructing election officials to be prepared for it should the legislature decide to allow it in the future.

"What the legislative history absolutely proves is they started off on one track and ended up on another," Wilson said.

Blunt, a Republican running for governor against Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill, advocates early voting, despite his contention that existing law doesn't allow it.

The case is City of St. Louis, et al., v. Matt Blunt.

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