Rule 10.12 - Procedures For Electronic Balloting(a) Initiation of Electronic Voting Preparations. If possible, at least five months before the election, the clerk responsible for the election of a member of a judicial commission shall notify the office of state courts administrator that an election is to take place. The clerk shall identify the date of the election. The office of state courts administrator shall create the election database and shall instruct the election administrators in the court conducting the election as to their duties for set-up of the election.(b) Certification of Electronic Voter File. Not fewer than 45 days nor more than 60 days before the election, upon this Court's request, The Missouri Bar shall certify to this Court and the office of state courts administrator the electronic file of lawyers eligible to vote in the election. The file shall contain the name, Missouri Bar ID number, and password (also known as personal identification number or PIN), address, county of residence, and e-mail address for all lawyers eligible to vote. The certified file shall control eligibility to vote electronically. No additions to the electronic file of eligible voters shall be made after the date the voter file is certified unless good cause is shown. Upon confirmation from this Court's office of attorney enrollment, newly sworn lawyers and lawyers who changed their residential address to a location within the court of appeals district or the circuit, as the case may be, may be added to the electronic file of eligible voters.
The office of state courts administrator shall load the voter file into the electronic election software application not less than seven days prior to the close of candidate filing for the election and shall cooperate with the clerk conducting the election to ensure that an appropriate number of postcard notices required by paragraph (i) will be available. The office of state courts administrator shall send this Court and the clerk conducting the election a confirmation that the number of voter records loaded matches the number of voters provided in the voter file.
(c) Ballots. The clerk shall prepare electronic ballots containing the names, counties of residence, and biographical sketches of all qualified candidates. There will be no paper ballots printed or used in the election except for those individuals receiving an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (d) Notification of Electronic Election. Prior to the close of candidate filing for the election, the clerk conducting the election shall send one or more e-mail announcements of the upcoming election to all lawyers whose e-mail addresses appear in the voter file provided by The Missouri Bar. All e-mail announcements shall provide notice of the web address that will be used for electronic voting and the names and telephone numbers of contact persons at the clerk's office. Candidate names shall not be provided in notification e-mails prior to the close of candidate filing.
Not later than 10 days after the close of candidate filing, the clerk conducting the election shall send all lawyers with e-mail addresses in the voter file an e-mail announcement that the voting period is open. In addition to the information contained in earlier e-mails, the e-mail announcement shall include the names of the candidates and their biographical sketches. At the same time, the clerk shall arrange for the mailing of postcard notices in accordance with procedures set forth in paragraph (i) to voters without e-mail addresses.
During the voting period, the clerk may send additional e-mail reminders of the availability of electronic voting.
(e) Voter Credentials. The Missouri Bar ID number and The Missouri Bar PIN used for access to The Missouri Bar's secure members-only website shall be used to confirm eligibility to vote electronically. The electronic election software shall not allow anyone to access the ballot who does not enter The Missouri Bar ID number and PIN that were certified in the electronic voter file. After the lawyer has cast one vote electronically, the software shall prevent any further access to the ballot by that ID and PIN. Appropriate error messages shall be displayed to anyone attempting to vote who does not appear in the voter file or who has already voted.
The Missouri Bar shall answer questions from lawyers about their own ID numbers and PINs.
(f) Voting Period. The voting period shall begin not later than 10 days after the last date that candidates may file a nominating petition. Voting shall end at 11:59:59 p.m. the Tuesday before the date of the election set forth in Rule 10.06. The election software application shall prevent voting after that time.(g) Confidentiality of Electronic Voting. The electronic election software shall prevent election administrators from viewing or printing the votes cast for candidates until after the close of the electronic voting period. Only the final vote tabulation will be viewable or printable by the election administrators. The software shall not provide a list of voters with their corresponding votes. Except for the voter, no other person shall reveal if a person has or has not voted. Whether a person has or has not voted shall be confidential.(h) Write-in Candidates. Except for a runoff election, the electronic election software shall allow voters to write in a candidate. After the voting period ends, the software shall provide a list of write-in candidates that displays the exact information that voters entered on their ballots.(i) Postcard Notices to Voters Without E-mail Addresses or Identified After the Electronic Voter File Is Certified. The clerk conducting the election shall arrange to mail postcard notices to lawyers in the voter file without an email address. The mailing to lawyers without e-mail addresses in the voter file shall occur not later than 10 days after the last date that candidates may file a nominating petition and not later than the e-mail notice that includes candidate names. The postcard notification shall inform the voter of the election, the dates for voting, and the web link where a vote may be cast electronically. The postcard also shall contain information on how to receive an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(j) Vote Counting. After the voting period concludes, the election software shall allow election administrators to view and print lists of the number of votes cast electronically for each candidate. The clerk conducting the election shall count the ballots on the day after the voting period concludes, and the vote totals shall be announced when the tabulation process is complete. Within 10 days after the election, the clerk shall certify the document containing the election results to the secretary of state and the clerk of this Court.
(k) Run-Off Elections. If the clerk conducting the election determines that a run-off election is required, the office of state courts administrator shall be notified, and the election shall be managed under the procedures set forth for the initial election, except that write-in candidates shall not be allowed.(l) Retention of Ballots. Electronic ballots and related documentation in the electronic election software shall be retained for a period of six months after the completion of the election canvass. At the end of the six months, unless directed otherwise by this Court, the clerk conducting the election shall direct the office of state courts administrator to delete the election database containing the ballots for the election. The clerk shall destroy all documents except the total vote at the same time that the office of state courts administrator deletes the electronic database for the election.Mo. R. Gov. Bar Jud. 10.12
Adopted Feb. 1, 1972, eff. 9/1/1972. Amended Dec. 22, 1998, eff. 7/1/1999; Amended Feb. 25, 209, eff. 2/25/2009; amended May 23, 2023, eff. 1/1/2024.