Legislation that would move the candidate filing period for the August primary back by one month is now moving through the Missouri House.
On Monday it passed the House Elections Committee and it next goes to the Rules Committee. However, House Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones (R, Eureka) seems to favor an alternate approach: Having a two-week filing period that would begin sometime in mid-March and end on March 27th as currently scheduled.
“You know, in this day and age when you can very easily travel to Jefferson City to sign up for an office...a two-week filing period should be more than adequate enough time to make a day trip up to sign up for office," Jones said.
The bill was passed quickly last week by the Missouri Senate over uncertainty surrounding the new State House and Senate district maps. The House map recently won a court challenge, but that decision is being appealed – the Missouri Supreme Court recently rejected the State Senate map, which is being redrawn by a bipartisan commission appointed by Governor Jay Nixon (D).
