Missouri House Endorses Plan for Closed Primary Elections

The Missouri House has advanced a plan to abolish open primary elections and limit future participation only to people who register in advance with a political party.

The legislation endorsed Wednesday would mean only registered Republicans could vote in the Republican primary and only registered Democrats could vote in the Democratic primary, starting in 2021. People not affiliated with a party could not vote for candidates in a primary election but could still vote on ballot issues.

Missouri does not currently have party registration for elections.

The Missouri Republican Party platform has called for closed primaries, but some Republicans voted against it Wednesday.

The bill won initial approved on a 78-72 vote. It will need 82 votes on a second-round vote to move to the Senate.