The Missouri General Assembly adjourned its 2026 legislative session on May 15 after passing four election-related bills and a constitutional amendment. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed all four bills in July.

Among those bills was HB 1871, an omnibus bill that makes several changes to Missouri election law. Those changes include:

• Designating Aug. 12 as Election Worker Appreciation Day in Missouri.
• Allowing registered lobbyists to maintain a campaign committee for a local or school board office, provided they are not registered to lobby the office they are seeking.
• Restoring voting rights to people convicted of all but 11 felonies upon completion of their prison sentence, rather than upon completion of prison sentence, probation, and parole.
• Establishing that lists of absentee ballot applications for people with permanent disabilities must be kept confidential.
• Requiring that a write-in candidate must be registered in order to have their votes counted, even if there are no other candidates filed.
• Allowing election officials to expand the area around a polling place in which electioneering is banned, from 25 feet to 50 feet, after posting notice publicly. 
• Requiring donors to give affirmative consent before a candidate can collect recurring campaign donations.
• Establishing childcare and personal security expenses as acceptable uses of campaign funds.

The Missouri Senate passed the final version of the bill 25-6 on May 11, with 15 Republicans and 10 Democrats voting in favor and six Republicans voting against. On May 12, the House of Representatives passed the bill 101-47, with 51 Republicans and 50 Democrats voting in favor and 47 Republicans voting against. Kehoe signed the bill on July 13.

The following bills were also enacted this session:

• HB 1940, which amends requirements for publishing election notices. It also moves the filing time for declarations of candidacy for offices in political subdivisions or special districts not otherwise specified in law or charter to be between the 16th Tuesday prior to the election and the 13th Tuesday prior to the election.
• SB 975, which allows ambulance district directors to be elected at large or by district, allows an ambulance district board to abolish existing districts if it cannot find enough qualified candidates, and requires a vote to be held on consolidating an ambulance district only if an objection is filed.
• SB 1002, which requires that school board and bond elections held in school districts in which a majority of the district is located in St. Charles County be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years. 

Legislators also passed a constitutional amendment, SJR 87, that would require most counties to elect a sheriff for a four-year term. The city of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County would be exempt from the requirement. The amendment will be presented to voters on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Missouri lawmakers enacted or approved three election-related bills and one constitutional amendment in 2025, one constitutional amendment in 2024, and no bills or constitutional amendments in 2023.