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Butterfly Ballots Stay in Missouri Elections

May 15, 2002
By: Rebecca Gannon
State Capital Bureau
Links: SB 675

The Missouri House tried to get rid of the Butterfly Ballot, but it failed.

Rebecca Gannon explains.

Story:
RunTime:
OutCue: SOC

Florida's confusion could have been Missouri's solution.

But it isn't.

The Missouri House tried to get rid of all butterfly ballots in state elections.

Representative May Scheve of St. Louis County explained why she proposed the amendment to get rid of the problematic ballots.

Actuality:Ballot1
RunTime: 11
OutCue: "...who really won the election."
Contents: Voters find it very difficult to deal with butterfly ballots. By eradicating the ballots, we eradicate a lot of the confusion, and can find out who really won the election.

Missouri Democrats have been pushing for the removal of butterfly ballots in state elections.

Problems with this type of ballot became an issue in Florida in the last Presidential election.

Rebecca Gannon, Jefferson City.

Missouri keeps Butterfly Ballots in elections.

Rebecca Gannon has more.

Story:
RunTime:
OutCue: SOC

Butterfly ballots.

Those little pieces of paper that made a mess of the last Presidential election are staying in Missouri.

A proposed amendment would have removed butterfly ballots from all Missouri elections.

The amendment didn't pass.

Republican Beth Long of Lebanon was one representative who voted to keep butterfly ballots.

Actuality:Ballot2
RunTime: 7
OutCue: "...option needed to be there."
Contents: Wants to use ballots, though does not think they'll be used often.

Democrat May Scheve of St. Louis proposed the amendment to remove butterfly ballots.

Rebecca Gannon, Jefferson City.

Florida's confusion could have been Missouri's solution.

But it isn't.

Rebecca Gannon explains.

Story:
RunTime:
OutCue: SOC

Butterfly ballots made a mess of the last presidential election, and some Missouri Democrats wanted to make sure that wouldn't happen here.

A proposed amendment would have removed butterfly ballots from use in Missouri's elections.

But the amendment failed on the House floor.

With a 43 to 77 vote, Democrat May Scheve of St. Louis lost her proposal.

Republican Beth Long voted against the ballot removal, but she says that the vote was not partisan.

Actuality:Ballot3
RunTime: 12
OutCue: "...voted with her."
Contents: Says that only 50% of Democrats voted with Scheve, everyone else voted against her.

Florida's fiasco during the last presidential election spawned Missouri's concern.

Rebecca Gannon, Jefferson City.