{"id":8719,"date":"2026-02-16T05:55:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/missouri-property-tax-overhaul-bill-may-inadvertently-move-municipal-elections-to-november\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T05:55:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:55:37","slug":"missouri-property-tax-overhaul-bill-may-inadvertently-move-municipal-elections-to-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/missouri-property-tax-overhaul-bill-may-inadvertently-move-municipal-elections-to-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri property tax overhaul bill may inadvertently move municipal elections to November"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

A bill to revise how property taxes are levied in Missouri also includes provisions that could move all local elections from April to November (Getty Images).<\/p>\n

A <\/span>property tax overhaul<\/span><\/a> moving through the Missouri House includes provisions that would potentially push all elections to August and November. The bill\u2019s sponsor, however, said that\u2019s not his intent and will make any changes necessary to prevent it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>measure<\/span><\/a> that would require taxing districts to set separate rates for each type of property also requires all property tax elections to be on an August or November ballot. But the language that would accomplish the change in election dates, critics warn, is far broader than necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is just rife with drafting errors,\u201d said Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon. \u201cThis is what concerns me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Under <\/span>current law<\/span><\/a>, partisan primary and general elections are held in August and November of even numbered years. The first Tuesday after the first Monday of April every year is set aside as the general municipal election day, when mostly non-partisan local offices are filled and measures such as tax and bond elections are held.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill given first-round approval last week, however, states that all primaries \u201cfor local, state and national offices\u201d would be in August and \u201call general elections for local, state and national offices and issues\u201d would be in November.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how they are reading that April is not gone,\u201d Lennon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 165-page bill sponsored by state Rep. Tim Taylor, a Republican from Bunceton, moved forward on a voice vote and is scheduled for a committee hearing Monday afternoon on its fiscal impact. If the bill is approved in the committee, Taylor said he expects a final House vote later in the afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview Friday with The Independent, Taylor said he only wants to move property tax elections from April to November.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe intent is absolutely not to move all elections from April,\u201d Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Missouri House advances bill to silo property tax rates, move tax elections to November<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The benefit of moving property tax elections to November is the greater voter turnout, Taylor said. There were 160 property tax ballot proposals before voters in 2024 from 2,811 taxing districts, Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not seem insurmountable to move that to November,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lennon\u2019s concerns echo those of state Rep. Peggy McGaugh, a Republican from Carrollton who was Carroll County Clerk for nearly 24 years. During debate, McGaugh said she was certain the bill, if passed unchanged, would end April elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

The November ballot would become longer, she said, and major national and statewide races and issues in November elections would make it more difficult to educate voters on local questions and candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you shift all elections to November, your ballot is going to be so long that voter fatigue is an issue, and the very taxes that you may want to have passed or failed are going to get lost in all the issues before it or behind it,\u201d McGaugh said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor said he\u2019s not convinced voters will tire before they get to local issues and leave the ballot for those issues blank.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am not going to insinuate they don\u2019t have the stamina and the strength and the fortitude to read the whole ballot,\u201d Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Boone County, turnout in the past five April elections ranged from 14% to 25% of registered voters. Approximately 70% of voters cast ballots in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, while 50% came to the polls for the 2022 off-year election.<\/span><\/p>\n

The money spent to energize voters for a November election is one reason turnout is so high, Lennon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local governments trying to get voters\u2019 attention would have to \u201cbreak through the noise\u201d of a November election where candidates and issue campaigns are spending millions, Lennon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local taxing districts can distribute material describing how money from a tax levy would be used but are barred by state law from using that material to advocate for a favorable vote. Organized spending for a local ballot measure is often less than $10,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhich, again, is why we see lower turnout in April, because that amount of money is not being spent on issues in the April elections,\u201d Lennon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There would be some cost savings associated with moving all elections from April to November, Lennon said. It would reduce outlays to rent locations for polling stations and payroll for election judges, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the savings, she said, would come at the cost of potentially using two-page ballots. The equipment she uses can accommodate a ballot of up to 19 inches long, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The November 2024 ballot was 17 inches long and covered two sides of the paper, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two-page ballots bring extra challenges for verifying results, Lennon said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReconciliation of the number of voters who check in to the number of ballots received gets really difficult,\u201d Lennon said. \u201cIt is after the fact difficult to match up if voters choose not to cast both ballots.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The changes Taylor wants to enact for property tax elections is not limited to the date when votes are cast. The ballot would also include an estimate of how much a proposed tax would cost property owners for every $100,000 of the base value used for assessments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And every ballot question would state the percentage increase in taxes from an increased levy, the reason the taxing district needs the money and the length of time the tax would be in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

The uncertainty about the way the bill is drafted is not enough to back up and revise it, Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The election provision will be studied, Taylor said, and if necessary, he would recommend changes as the bill is revised in the state Senate. It\u2019s already too late for the bill to be revised any further in the House.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He wants to work with local election authorities to refine the bill, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make this right,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThis bill is just getting off the ground and there is going to be a lot of massaging along the way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The tax bill was moved too quickly, House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Kansas City, said last week at a news conference. Most of the time used during debate was on an amendment that standardized the ballot questions for property tax measures. Other important issues in the bill were not discussed, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats are on board with providing Missourians much needed property tax relief, but details matter, and we barely scratched the surface of how this bill impacts local governments and their ability to serve residents,\u201d Aune said.<\/span><\/p>\n

To move to the Senate, the bill needs 82 votes. The bill has supporters and critics in both parties, Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

His appeal to colleagues will be to keep the bill moving, Taylor said. The bill is certain to be revised in the Senate, and if it clears that chamber the House will have another vote later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is to convince them this process is far from over,\u201d Taylor said, \u201cand we are going to have ample opportunity to get something across the finish line.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bill to revise how property taxes are levied in Missouri also includes provisions that could move all local elections from April to November (Getty Images). A property tax overhaul moving through the Missouri House includes provisions that would potentially push all elections to August and November. The bill\u2019s sponsor, however, said that\u2019s not his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri property tax overhaul bill may inadvertently move municipal elections to November - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/missouri-property-tax-overhaul-bill-may-inadvertently-move-municipal-elections-to-november\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missouri property tax overhaul bill may inadvertently move municipal elections to November - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bill to revise how property taxes are levied in Missouri also includes provisions that could move all local elections from April to November (Getty Images). 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