LAW FIXES ELECTION PROCESS

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson wouldn't have had to run as an independent if Missouri's new elections law had been on the books last year.

Gov. Mel Carnahan recently signed into law legislation designed to improve the elections process.

The law, pushed by Secretary of State Bekki Cook, makes numerous technical and time-saving changes in election procedures.

Cook said the law helps eliminate late ballot changes, improves election management, and reduces election costs.

The new law requires that a ballot be finalized at least four weeks before an election. Previously, it could change as late as the Friday before the election.

The death last June of Emerson's husband, then-congressman Bill Emerson, pointed out election procedure problems that the new law is designed to remedy.

Emerson died of lung cancer little more than six weeks before the August primary in which he was running for re-election.

Cook interpreted state law to say that filing couldn't be reopened for five days to permit new candidates to seek the office.

Republican Party leaders and others criticized her decision. Jo Ann Emerson was forced to run as an independent candidate in the November general election even though she was clearly the candidate of the Republican Party organization. She had to submit petitions bearing the signatures of registered voters to get her name on the ballot.

Under Missouri's new elections law, if the incumbent or the only candidate in the race dies, withdraws or is disqualified eight weeks or more before the primary, filing reopens in all parties for five business days.

If the situation occurs between the eighth and sixth weeks before the election, each party committee would be able to choose an additional candidate to run in the primary.

"We are trying to keep the ballot as fluid as we can as long as we can," said Jim Grebing, Cook's communications director.

"But you can't go right down to the wire all the time," he said. "You have to strike a balance between being able to make late ballot changes and local election officials having a final ballot printed and out there for voters to consider."

Grebing said no election law can address every situation that could arise.

But Cook and Grebing said the new law addresses many of the problems that arose during the 1996 elections process. "We spent a lot of time trying to figure out where the flaws were in the election laws," Grebing said.

Missouri Republican Party spokesman Daryl Duwe was sharply critical of Cook's decision not to reopen filing last year after Emerson's death.

Duwe said Monday that the new law is a step in the right direction. Election laws, he said, should be designed for the convenience of the voters and make it fair for those who want to run for office.

The previous elections law was designed for the convenience of Missouri's local election authorities, he said.

Duwe likes the new law's provision that would allow each party to choose an additional candidate to run in the primary. "I think that people's decisions on whether they are going to run are often influenced by whether a strong incumbent is running," Duwe said.

Like Grebing, Duwe said it is impossible to write a law to cover every scenario. "At least we learned a lesson and covered some ground that needed to be covered," he said.

Last year there wasn't a final ballot for the Nov. 5 general election until Oct. 21, 15 days before the election.

"Voters were unclear about the issues they would be considering, and reprinting ballots is expensive," said Cook.

Under the new law, preparation of fiscal notes for initiative petitions will begin when petitions are submitted to the secretary of state's office for approval rather than when they are certified for the ballot.

This will allow the legal challenges to begin and end sooner, Cook said.

Another provision deals with the problem of candidates withdrawing just before the filing deadline and having their hand-picked candidates on hand to file in their place. Under the new law, the filing deadline would be extended until the following Friday if a candidate withdraws within two days of the filing deadline.

Local election officials could create a random drawing for the ballot positions of candidates who file for office on the first day of filing.

The process has eliminated long lines of candidates camped out in front of the secretary of state's office in order to be first on the ballot. The new law extends that option to the local level.