Missouri House Bill 1871, sponsored by State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, has been approved by the Missouri House and is headed to Gov. Mike Kehoe for consideration. The bill aims to allow provisional ballots to be counted in municipal elections, increase the distance for electioneering around polling places to 50 feet, and eliminate the need to count write-in votes for non-candidate names. The legislation does not address the restoration of Missouri’s presidential primaries, which is part of a separate bill awaiting a Senate vote. Rep. McGaugh believes these changes will streamline the election process and prevent wasted time on frivolous write-in votes.