Bill would require Missourians to prove citizenship when registering to vote

Natanya Friedheim, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Mar 3, 2026

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missourians would have to prove they are United States citizens when registering to vote under a proposal heard in a Senate elections committee on Monday, though details of how the state would accomplish that remained unclear.

Current state law requires applicants registering to vote to present valid identification and check a box attesting to their citizenship.

The new requirement spelled out in Senate Bill 986, authored by Sen. Ben Brown, a Washington County Republican, would apply only to new voters, not people already on the state’s voter rolls.

Brown authored the 2024 ballot measure approved by voters to explicitly ban noncitizen voting, even though they already were prohibited from participating in elections in the state.

“Considering the mandate that we were given by the voters ... we have the responsibility to ensure that this policy is enforced,” Brown told the Committee on Local Government, Elections and Pensions on Monday.

Following its passage of the 2024 ballot measure, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins called on lawmakers to specify how state officials should vet voters.

Brown said he still is working out details and expected to offer substitute language for Senate Bill 986, even as the legislative session nears its halfway point.

People still would be able to register online or by mail under Brown’s proposal but would have to upload or include copies of required documents.

Witnesses at the hearing were divided on the idea.

Brown's proposal offers Missourians “a system they can trust,” said Chad Ennis of Honest Elections Project Action. “They can know, going forward, that there aren’t going to be any noncitizens on the voter rolls.”

Denise Lieberman, of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, said in an interview, "This will effectively end third-party voter registration.”

Groups such as the League of Women Voters of Missouri set up voter registration booths at high schools, county fairs. First-time voters who register through those groups are required to bring an ID and proof of residency to their polling place on election day.

Under Brown’s bill, a U.S. passport would count as proof of citizenship, as would a government-issued identification showing the applicant was born in the United States.

Because most IDs do not show citizenship status, applicants would need to provide a birth certificate, a hospital or adoption record showing they were born in this country, a naturalization or citizenship certificate for immigrants, or a Native American tribal membership card.

“You’re going to lose a lot of young voters,” Kay Park, the League’s president, said at Monday's hearing.

Arizona, which has required proof of citizenship to register since 2004, maintains two voter rolls: one with verified citizens and another of those who have not provided proof of citizenship. Those without proof of citizenship still can vote in federal elections.

Brown's bill proposes a system that would enable voters who lack documentation to participate in federal but not state or local elections.

Chris Roepe of the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities said the logistics of such a system would pose challenges to local elections officials.

“I just don't know that we have those capabilities without probably a significant infrastructure investment,” Roepe said.

The committee hearing Missouri Senate took place as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, which proposes similar requirements, is working its way through Congress. Versions of the SAVE Act have passed the U.S. House since 2023 but have stalled in the Senate.

Brown said about eight states require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Last week, the Missouri House’s Special Committee on Redistricting discussed a resolution introduced by Rep. Michael Davis, R-Belton, urging Congress to pass the measure. The committee did not vote on the resolution.

“There’s no process in place currently to prevent non-U.S. citizens from registering to vote,” Davis told the committee.

He cited the example of a Mexican national, Jose Ceballos, who served as the mayor of Coldwater, Kansas. Ceballos holds a green card and was accused of voting illegally as a noncitizen: “It creates a scenario where the voters question the integrity of our elections when there are non-U.S. citizens voting in our elections.”

The Missouri Supreme Court has not issued a decision yet on a 2022 law requiring voters to have photo identification to cast a ballot.