For as long as Missouri has had voter registration, there has been no requirement that people choose a political party as part of the process.
That means every primary is open to every voter. Every four years, it is possible to cast a ballot in one party’s presidential primary in the spring and another party’s primary for governor in August.
And it also means that anyone who wants to be a candidate for a partisan public office doesn’t have to do anything more than pay a fee to the party of their choice on filing day.
Under legislation proposed for the session that began Wednesday, that would change. Two House members, Reps. Dan Stacy, R-Blue Springs, and Jered Taylor, R-Republic, along with Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, have introduced bills requiring voters to choose a party if they wish to vote in primaries.