A Republican state representative thinks Missouri should follow the example set by the GOP nationally and allow people convicted of felonies to be candidates for office.
“I think it’ll draw some attention, which so far it has,” Davis said in an interview with The Independent.
Davis, who will be starting his third term in the House in January, said he has tried to lift the restriction, first enacted in 2015, in the past. A bill he filed two years ago to remove the barrier to office was referred to a committee but didn’t receive a hearing.
Talking with people opposed to his bill can be awkward, he said.
“Having conversations now, when I bring up the topic, a lot of them are squeamish about the idea of having felons in office, but then, if they’re Republican, I remind them that they probably voted for one,” Davis said.
Because Missouri law cannot modify the qualifications for federal office, people with felony convictions can file for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seats but not for state or local office.
Putting Trump’s name in the bill is a way of reminding his colleagues of that difference, Davis said.
“A lot of people don’t don’t think about the fact that Donald Trump, if he met all the other requirements, if he was a Missouri resident, he could not run for state representative or state Senate,” Davis said. “He would be precluded from running for these offices, but was able to be re-elected president of the United States. So I think that at least causes people to start thinking about the issue a little more than they might otherwise.”
The state law was upheld in June in a Missouri Supreme Court decision barring a candidate with a felony conviction from running for county commission. In a St. Charles County legislative race this year, a judge dismissed a challenge based on the law because the candidate seeking to have an opponent removed from the ballot could not provide proof of a guilty plea.
Voters can distinguish between prior acts that disqualify someone from a position of trust and those that do not, Davis said.
“If it’s someone who has a felony conviction that would be unappealing to most voters, they will not elect that individual,” Davis said. “But someone who maybe made some sort of financial indiscretion or had drug possession or some of the smaller crimes that are still felony convictions, I think the public is able to discern that, and they did that with the president.”
