The Case for Consolidated Election Dates
Missouri is an election integrity state.
Building off the success of 2024, lawmakers are advancing a number of election integrity reforms this session, from banning Zuckbucks 2.0 to requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. Missouri voters will have the opportunity to constitutionally ban foreign funding of ballot measure campaigns by voting for Amendment 4.
Alongside those, one of the biggest problems in our election system is when elections are held.
As we’ve outlined in our preview of Missouri election integrity legislation, a system that routinely holds elections on obscure dates quietly discourages participation and undermines accountability.
HB 1613 addresses that problem directly by consolidating elections onto dates when voters are already paying attention.
Too Many Elections, Too Few Voters
Missouri holds elections year-round, often on odd dates that most voters do not expect and never hear about.
The result is always the same. Turnout collapses. Important decisions about taxes, pensions, and local governance are made by a small fraction of the electorate.
These low-turnout elections consistently benefit organized interests that can reliably mobilize voters, especially teachers’ and other public sector unions, whose members have a direct financial stake in the outcome and the organizational capacity to turn out supporters when the general public stays home.
Low turnout is not accidental.
It’s a feature, not a bug, for public sector unions and entrenched interests.
Consolidation Changes the Incentives
When elections are consolidated onto the November general election ballot, participation rises dramatically.
In Texas, for example, moving local elections from a spring date to November increased turnout from roughly 4 percent to more than 40 percent among the same voters.
That shift changes who holds power. Elections decided by tens of thousands of voters look very different from elections decided by a few hundred highly motivated members of teachers’ unions.
Holding elections off-cycle systematically depresses turnout and weakens accountability, while consolidation strengthens transparency and ensures decisions reflect the broader public, not just organized blocs with time and money to mobilize.
A Conservative Reform That Saves Money
Election date consolidation is a taxpayer issue.
Running frequent stand-alone elections is expensive. Election officials must repeatedly staff polling locations, print ballots, and manage logistics throughout the year. Consolidation reduces duplication and lowers administrative costs.
Aligning elections with existing general election dates improves participation while streamlining government operations and reducing unnecessary spending.
What HB 1613 Does
HB 1613 establishes the November general election as the default date for most elections, while allowing reasonable exceptions for primaries, special elections, and runoffs.
The goal is simple. Make elections predictable. Increase participation. Reduce opportunities for manipulation through obscure timing.
When voters know when elections happen, they are far more likely to show up.
That’s how we get local governments and school boards accountable to the people they represent, not the people who can make it to a Spring election.
Liberals and Conservatives should be able to come together to support election date consolidation.
If they can’t, it’ll be because Liberals are unwilling to give up the structural advantage for teachers’ unions and others to control local elections.
Legislators should support HB 1613 to increase participation in our elections and accountability for our elected officials.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA