1 00:00:04,471 --> 00:00:06,706 Welcome to the Missouri Secretary of State's office. 2 00:00:06,706 --> 00:00:07,607 I'm Rachel Dunn, I'm 3 00:00:07,607 --> 00:00:11,444 communications director here, and I'm here with Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. 4 00:00:11,478 --> 00:00:14,848 You're the 41st secretary of state and welcome to your own podcast. 5 00:00:15,014 --> 00:00:15,882 How are you, sir? 6 00:00:15,882 --> 00:00:16,850 It's great to be here. 7 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:18,485 I'm excited about having a podcast. 8 00:00:18,485 --> 00:00:19,085 Me too. 9 00:00:19,085 --> 00:00:21,421 We've got a great new studio here in the office. 10 00:00:21,421 --> 00:00:22,222 It's beautiful. 11 00:00:22,222 --> 00:00:24,891 We got some fancy equipment, so it's going to be great for our, 12 00:00:24,891 --> 00:00:27,026 you know, screeching eagles and explosions. 13 00:00:27,026 --> 00:00:30,930 Yes, but first thing out, we need a title for this podcast. 14 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:34,234 So if you have any good ideas like we've thought about behind the Seal, 15 00:00:34,634 --> 00:00:37,637 but give us your ideas if you've got one. 16 00:00:37,637 --> 00:00:40,073 But let's get to know the secretary a little bit today. Yes. 17 00:00:40,073 --> 00:00:40,940 So how are you feeling? 18 00:00:40,940 --> 00:00:43,076 Are you in your past 100 days? 19 00:00:43,076 --> 00:00:45,712 You've done a lot. You've done so much. 20 00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:48,781 It has been a it's been a very fast 100 days, 21 00:00:48,781 --> 00:00:51,885 but it seems like it's been a lot longer than that. 22 00:00:51,885 --> 00:00:54,621 But yeah, we've had a lot of big wins and a lot of great things 23 00:00:54,621 --> 00:00:56,623 that we're doing here in the Secretary of State's office, 24 00:00:56,623 --> 00:00:58,324 beginning with election integrity. 25 00:00:58,324 --> 00:01:01,694 I mean, that's when people think about the secretary of State's office. 26 00:01:01,694 --> 00:01:03,730 And we have a lot of different divisions. 27 00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,666 But most people know that I certify elections in the state. 28 00:01:06,666 --> 00:01:09,802 And so, you know, on the campaign trail, I promised 29 00:01:09,802 --> 00:01:12,972 that I would audit the voter rolls. 30 00:01:12,972 --> 00:01:15,208 And that's one of the things that I'm proud to say that we've done. 31 00:01:15,208 --> 00:01:16,709 So since January 13th. 32 00:01:16,709 --> 00:01:20,346 we've been working with local election authorities and our county clerks, 33 00:01:20,346 --> 00:01:25,885 and we've taken off over 150,000 ineligible voters off the voter rolls here 34 00:01:25,885 --> 00:01:29,489 in the state of Missouri, including 18,000 deceased voters 35 00:01:29,789 --> 00:01:33,960 and 1700 felons that aren't supposed to be on the voter rolls. 36 00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:36,829 Well, let's get into that, because, like, as your communications 37 00:01:36,829 --> 00:01:39,966 director, I know that social media is going to light up, right? 38 00:01:39,966 --> 00:01:42,602 Because that sounds crazy. That sounds crazy. 39 00:01:42,602 --> 00:01:45,104 So this has to happen every four years. 40 00:01:45,104 --> 00:01:49,442 Every four years, the local election authorities go through and do this. 41 00:01:49,609 --> 00:01:50,677 Yes, yes. 42 00:01:50,677 --> 00:01:54,147 So yeah, one in state statute, I believe it says routinely 43 00:01:54,147 --> 00:01:57,016 they must routinely audit the voter rolls and clean those up. 44 00:01:57,016 --> 00:01:59,318 And there's no real definition of routinely. 45 00:01:59,318 --> 00:02:04,357 And so one of the things is if you if a missourian voter or Missouri voter 46 00:02:04,357 --> 00:02:06,092 hasn't voted in the last four years, 47 00:02:06,092 --> 00:02:09,162 the last two federal elections, they can be sent a letter. 48 00:02:09,162 --> 00:02:12,065 If there's no response to that letter, then they can be taken off the voter 49 00:02:12,065 --> 00:02:12,365 rolls. 50 00:02:12,365 --> 00:02:15,435 Well, obviously, you know, we had record voter turnout 51 00:02:15,435 --> 00:02:19,005 in the 2020 election as well as the 2024 election. 52 00:02:19,005 --> 00:02:22,708 And so if you did not vote in the 2020 election, 2022 53 00:02:22,708 --> 00:02:26,546 election or 2024 election, that probably means you may have moved. 54 00:02:26,546 --> 00:02:30,983 You may moved out of state or you were deceased, or unfortunately, 55 00:02:31,184 --> 00:02:32,985 I guess you may have been incarcerated 56 00:02:32,985 --> 00:02:36,289 and so therefore you aren't eligible here in the state of Missouri. 57 00:02:36,689 --> 00:02:40,193 I've seen you brought on Nick LaStrada the director of election 58 00:02:40,193 --> 00:02:43,196 integrity, a former county clerk, some great experience there. 59 00:02:43,262 --> 00:02:47,800 I've seen him and Chrissy Peters, the director of elections, every week. 60 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,870 They're connecting with your local election authorities. 61 00:02:50,903 --> 00:02:53,005 Got 116 of them been. 62 00:02:53,005 --> 00:02:54,974 And you've been out in the field to. Yes. 63 00:02:54,974 --> 00:02:58,477 You visited many counties and you had some visitors here too. 64 00:02:58,511 --> 00:03:01,581 What is the vibe you're getting from your local clerks? 65 00:03:01,948 --> 00:03:04,283 I think the vibe is, you know, they're very concerned 66 00:03:04,283 --> 00:03:08,187 about elections, too, and they want to make sure that Missourians feel 67 00:03:08,921 --> 00:03:12,024 that their vote counts and that only eligible voters 68 00:03:12,024 --> 00:03:13,125 vote here in the state of Missouri. 69 00:03:13,125 --> 00:03:13,726 And so, 70 00:03:13,726 --> 00:03:17,263 you know, when I've been out on some trips to Callaway County, Boone County, 71 00:03:17,697 --> 00:03:22,468 Moniteau County, as well as brought in some county clerks here, we had, 72 00:03:23,035 --> 00:03:24,370 several county clerks that came here 73 00:03:24,370 --> 00:03:27,974 for what I believe is the mid Missouri county Clerk Association meeting. 74 00:03:28,207 --> 00:03:31,944 I know that, currently this week is the County 75 00:03:31,944 --> 00:03:35,781 Clerks Association meeting for all county clerks and local election authorities. 76 00:03:35,781 --> 00:03:37,083 And so I'll be heading 77 00:03:37,083 --> 00:03:39,952 up to their conference in a couple days and visiting with them. 78 00:03:39,952 --> 00:03:42,421 But I think the vibe is pretty good. 79 00:03:42,421 --> 00:03:46,559 We have had a few, election complaints that we're working 80 00:03:46,559 --> 00:03:50,796 on, and, and so but I think overall the vibe has been pretty good. 81 00:03:50,796 --> 00:03:55,301 And they appreciate, the added value that Nick LaStrada 82 00:03:55,301 --> 00:03:58,304 has brought to him as far as helping clean up their voter rolls. 83 00:03:58,471 --> 00:04:01,207 We're going to be working on some training things 84 00:04:01,207 --> 00:04:03,075 because a lot of the county clerks are new. 85 00:04:03,075 --> 00:04:06,145 They may be, I think they said maybe one third 86 00:04:06,145 --> 00:04:09,148 of the county clerks are still within their first four year term. 87 00:04:09,148 --> 00:04:10,182 Wow. Yes. 88 00:04:10,182 --> 00:04:12,952 And so they're learning. They're training on the job. 89 00:04:12,952 --> 00:04:17,156 They're trying to figure out exactly what they should and should not be doing. 90 00:04:17,423 --> 00:04:21,293 And, you know, so I told them that, hey, we'll help provide some training. 91 00:04:21,293 --> 00:04:23,195 We want to be a resource for our county clerks 92 00:04:23,195 --> 00:04:26,298 to make sure that people believe that their elections are safe and secure 93 00:04:26,298 --> 00:04:27,066 here in the state. 94 00:04:27,066 --> 00:04:30,135 Those are absolutely very diligent positions. Yes. 95 00:04:30,336 --> 00:04:33,672 It's been it's been cool seeing them like just truly appreciate the support. 96 00:04:33,772 --> 00:04:34,206 Right. 97 00:04:34,206 --> 00:04:34,473 Because you're 98 00:04:34,473 --> 00:04:37,810 not here to micromanage at all, which is something you know you're a CPA. 99 00:04:38,310 --> 00:04:40,946 Like I think I don't know if Missouri's ever had an accountant 100 00:04:40,946 --> 00:04:43,949 as a secretary of state before, but I think it's a good thing. 101 00:04:44,116 --> 00:04:46,986 Like we see every election cycle, like, oh, we got to run government 102 00:04:46,986 --> 00:04:49,321 like a business. There's a few things government can learn. 103 00:04:49,321 --> 00:04:50,456 That's right. What do you think? 104 00:04:50,456 --> 00:04:51,624 Yeah I agree. 105 00:04:51,624 --> 00:04:55,694 So, you know, people have said, hey what what did you bring from your CPA certified 106 00:04:55,694 --> 00:04:59,365 public accountant background and as a, as an auditor, 107 00:04:59,798 --> 00:05:03,502 one of the things when I went into audit a company, I had to become an expert 108 00:05:03,502 --> 00:05:06,505 in that particular company in a matter of, you know, snap of a finger. 109 00:05:06,538 --> 00:05:07,506 Matter of two weeks. 110 00:05:07,506 --> 00:05:08,107 I had to, 111 00:05:08,107 --> 00:05:11,877 you know, and had to become an expert on that company to audit their books. 112 00:05:11,877 --> 00:05:14,613 And that's one of the things with so many different divisions 113 00:05:14,613 --> 00:05:17,683 here, we've had about 6 or 7 kind of forward facing divisions. 114 00:05:18,217 --> 00:05:20,986 I think about 12 divisions overall. 115 00:05:20,986 --> 00:05:24,623 And so coming into this office, I had to hit the ground running 116 00:05:24,823 --> 00:05:28,160 and had to really become an expert on that particular, 117 00:05:28,694 --> 00:05:33,065 side of of being the secretary of state, because we talk about elections. 118 00:05:33,065 --> 00:05:34,967 But, you know, there's also business services, 119 00:05:34,967 --> 00:05:39,038 their securities, their state library, state archives, administrative rules. 120 00:05:39,271 --> 00:05:41,540 And so a lot of a lot of different things. Some of them, 121 00:05:42,574 --> 00:05:46,145 intersect and interconnect, but others are completely different. 122 00:05:46,145 --> 00:05:48,680 I mean, securities is very much different than elections. 123 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:53,218 You know, state archives is very much different than administrative rules. 124 00:05:53,218 --> 00:05:55,053 And so, that's one of the thing, 125 00:05:55,053 --> 00:05:58,056 being a certified public accountant and being an auditor, 126 00:05:58,390 --> 00:06:01,627 I utilize my, my background in that to come in and try 127 00:06:01,627 --> 00:06:05,497 to just hit the ground running and learn as much as I can as fast as possible. 128 00:06:05,798 --> 00:06:08,700 One of the biggest things I think I've learned since, since you brought me 129 00:06:08,700 --> 00:06:13,138 on, I came in in January with you, and I'm loving being on the agency side. 130 00:06:13,172 --> 00:06:13,739 Yes, well, 131 00:06:13,739 --> 00:06:17,810 the Secretary of State's office is truly an administrative facilitative agency. 132 00:06:17,810 --> 00:06:20,946 There's no one in the state that isn't touched by some service. 133 00:06:20,946 --> 00:06:23,248 Every single day. Exactly. And that's wild. 134 00:06:23,248 --> 00:06:27,553 Yeah, it is wild because, you know, I this year being my first year, 135 00:06:27,553 --> 00:06:28,787 I tried to stay in my lane. 136 00:06:28,787 --> 00:06:30,622 Right. Okay. Not get outside. 137 00:06:30,622 --> 00:06:31,757 What the secretary state does. 138 00:06:31,757 --> 00:06:35,294 But when I deal with businesses as far as business 139 00:06:35,294 --> 00:06:39,264 services, you know, business filings, and if you create a business or dissolve 140 00:06:39,264 --> 00:06:39,665 a business, 141 00:06:39,665 --> 00:06:44,036 when I do with elections, the State Library, archives, administrative rules. 142 00:06:44,036 --> 00:06:45,737 So all these state agencies file 143 00:06:45,737 --> 00:06:49,541 different rules and regulations that we we take a look at, as well as elections. 144 00:06:49,541 --> 00:06:52,978 There's not much that the Secretary of State's office doesn't, doesn't touch. 145 00:06:52,978 --> 00:06:56,081 And so I quickly found that my lane was pretty wide. 146 00:06:56,448 --> 00:06:59,751 And, I had to become an expert and hire good, 147 00:06:59,985 --> 00:07:03,155 hard, good people, in order to manage those agencies. 148 00:07:03,755 --> 00:07:05,557 Yeah. And it's cool here. 149 00:07:05,557 --> 00:07:08,026 It's really cool vibes. It's crazy. 150 00:07:08,026 --> 00:07:10,595 It is crazy to watch me learn something every day. That's right. 151 00:07:10,595 --> 00:07:11,496 Which is great. 152 00:07:11,496 --> 00:07:14,099 You know, it's a good place to work is we don't get bored. 153 00:07:14,099 --> 00:07:15,667 We don't get bored. Not at all. 154 00:07:15,667 --> 00:07:18,670 Well, let's look at the questions from, you know, myself. 155 00:07:18,670 --> 00:07:20,105 Yes, myself. 156 00:07:20,105 --> 00:07:22,574 So we talked about election integrity, right. 157 00:07:22,574 --> 00:07:24,443 And we talked about the voter rolls. 158 00:07:24,443 --> 00:07:28,380 Now the voter rolls, the cleanup, is a really big deal 159 00:07:28,380 --> 00:07:33,051 because like the percentage of change is is substantial. 160 00:07:33,051 --> 00:07:34,953 It's been a big cleanup. 161 00:07:34,953 --> 00:07:38,690 So other than that we've got to clean up, what else has been going on the election 162 00:07:38,690 --> 00:07:39,391 integrity front? 163 00:07:39,391 --> 00:07:43,361 Well, so one of the main reasons we wanted to do the the audit of the voter rolls 164 00:07:43,361 --> 00:07:47,933 is so we can take our voter rolls and compare it to the saved 165 00:07:47,933 --> 00:07:51,269 database, the database of non-citizens here in the United States. 166 00:07:51,269 --> 00:07:54,272 And so we have access to that database now. 167 00:07:54,306 --> 00:07:57,709 However, we have our IT team here in the Secretary of State's 168 00:07:57,709 --> 00:08:01,480 office, thankfully, and so they're they're working, 169 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,483 in order to try and cross, cross, 170 00:08:04,583 --> 00:08:08,920 you know, cross connect the names on the same database of non-citizens 171 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,157 that should not be voting with our voter registration system. 172 00:08:12,157 --> 00:08:14,292 So that's one of the things we're we're working on. 173 00:08:14,292 --> 00:08:18,129 And then memorandum of understandings with some of the surrounding states 174 00:08:18,396 --> 00:08:22,067 to see, you know, a lot of people, if you live on the west side of the state, 175 00:08:22,067 --> 00:08:27,339 a lot of people, move back and forth between Kansas and Missouri on the [...] 176 00:08:27,339 --> 00:08:30,742 and cross across the state line, the same thing in Saint Louis. 177 00:08:31,109 --> 00:08:34,346 And so working with some of our neighboring states 178 00:08:34,479 --> 00:08:37,382 and also the state of Florida, because we do have some snowbirds 179 00:08:37,382 --> 00:08:40,018 like to go down to Florida during the winter time, 180 00:08:40,018 --> 00:08:43,521 so we can compare the voter registration and maybe somebody 181 00:08:43,521 --> 00:08:46,524 you know, move from Missouri to Kansas or Kansas to Missouri. 182 00:08:46,925 --> 00:08:51,596 Likewise in Illinois or Arkansas, all those bordering states, Iowa. 183 00:08:51,896 --> 00:08:55,467 And to make sure that, you know, I moved a few times, 184 00:08:55,467 --> 00:08:56,201 I will tell you that 185 00:08:56,201 --> 00:08:59,337 the last thing I thought about when I was moving is, hey, I need to 186 00:08:59,337 --> 00:09:03,141 call the county clerk where I move from and have them take me off the voter rolls. 187 00:09:03,141 --> 00:09:04,509 Right. You just think it's done, right? 188 00:09:04,509 --> 00:09:06,378 You just think it's done and you've got a 189 00:09:06,378 --> 00:09:07,979 I mean, there's a whole host of other things, 190 00:09:07,979 --> 00:09:11,816 you know, you're trying to get utilities turned on, you're trying to get unpacked. 191 00:09:11,816 --> 00:09:14,586 That's probably the last thing that you're that you're thinking about. 192 00:09:14,586 --> 00:09:15,453 And so we're working on 193 00:09:15,453 --> 00:09:18,957 some memorandum of understanding with other secretary states in order, 194 00:09:18,957 --> 00:09:19,991 so we can compare those 195 00:09:19,991 --> 00:09:22,994 those voter rolls to make sure, hey, if somebody moved, let's take them off. 196 00:09:23,028 --> 00:09:24,095 Take them off. This one. 197 00:09:24,095 --> 00:09:27,032 I know Saint Louis City came out. 198 00:09:27,032 --> 00:09:31,269 They had this what they called a, I think, gateway card or something like that. 199 00:09:31,770 --> 00:09:34,339 That was going to be a photo ID that supposedly 200 00:09:34,339 --> 00:09:38,176 they could use for different governmental services inside Saint Louis City. 201 00:09:38,176 --> 00:09:43,214 Well, we we pushed back against that as far as them being able to utilize that, 202 00:09:43,214 --> 00:09:44,215 that as a photo 203 00:09:44,215 --> 00:09:47,218 ID here in the state of Missouri, you have to have a photo ID to vote. 204 00:09:47,285 --> 00:09:51,389 Unfortunately, the gateway card, which, you didn't have to be a registered voter 205 00:09:51,389 --> 00:09:52,690 to get you didn't have to be a U.S. 206 00:09:52,690 --> 00:09:56,561 citizen to get, they we could foresee, you know, some, 207 00:09:56,795 --> 00:10:00,532 some, things that were brewing where people might try and use 208 00:10:00,532 --> 00:10:01,733 their gateway card 209 00:10:01,733 --> 00:10:05,436 in order to register to vote, and and we pushed that hard back against that. 210 00:10:05,670 --> 00:10:09,707 You cannot use your Saint Louis City Gateway card in order to, for a photo 211 00:10:09,707 --> 00:10:10,675 ID to vote. 212 00:10:10,675 --> 00:10:15,813 And then Trump, Trump issued an election executive order. 213 00:10:15,947 --> 00:10:19,350 And so we my team, what they did is they went through 214 00:10:20,251 --> 00:10:22,720 to see exactly where 215 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,324 what we already had in Missouri state law, like Trump called for paper ballots. 216 00:10:26,324 --> 00:10:29,761 Well, paper ballots are already state law here in the state of Missouri. 217 00:10:29,761 --> 00:10:31,896 And so, yes, we put the check mark on that one. 218 00:10:31,896 --> 00:10:33,031 We already do that. 219 00:10:33,031 --> 00:10:36,301 Then some of the things that would require legislative action, like, 220 00:10:36,634 --> 00:10:40,271 requiring proof of citizenship to vote in Missouri elections. 221 00:10:40,271 --> 00:10:43,775 So that's something I know they're working that on, on our federal 222 00:10:44,142 --> 00:10:47,345 side, which would apply to federal elections 223 00:10:47,345 --> 00:10:50,415 like for president, US Senate, US Congress, 224 00:10:51,482 --> 00:10:55,486 but in order to require proof of citizenship for our local elections, 225 00:10:55,486 --> 00:10:57,989 like city council or state rep or things like that, 226 00:10:57,989 --> 00:11:00,358 we would have to change that state law here in the state of Missouri. 227 00:11:00,358 --> 00:11:01,926 So legislative fixes and then there were 228 00:11:01,926 --> 00:11:05,997 some other things that I can probably do with the issuance of an executive order. 229 00:11:05,997 --> 00:11:08,032 So, we've been working on that. 230 00:11:08,032 --> 00:11:11,569 Most certainly we want to comply as much as possible with Trump's 231 00:11:11,803 --> 00:11:15,873 executive order and, and been working with our federal counterparts 232 00:11:16,107 --> 00:11:19,010 to say, hey, this is what we already do in Missouri State law. 233 00:11:19,010 --> 00:11:21,079 This is would take legislative action. 234 00:11:21,079 --> 00:11:24,715 And this might be able to be accomplished by, emergency rule. 235 00:11:25,216 --> 00:11:27,251 You're talking about staying in your lane earlier. 236 00:11:27,251 --> 00:11:27,552 And one of 237 00:11:27,552 --> 00:11:31,489 the big lessons I learned is like your lane is very clearly defined. Yes. 238 00:11:32,023 --> 00:11:35,660 Rule all the way up to executive order, all the way up to the Constitution, 239 00:11:35,660 --> 00:11:38,029 whether it's election laws, whether it's business services, 240 00:11:38,029 --> 00:11:42,667 what we can and cannot notify people, how we spend money, very well defined. 241 00:11:42,867 --> 00:11:46,938 But every day, I think I'm so grateful to be here in the year 2025 242 00:11:46,938 --> 00:11:50,741 when we have the technology to really implement these commonsense priorities. 243 00:11:50,741 --> 00:11:53,044 Yes, whether it's cleaning up the voter rolls, 244 00:11:53,044 --> 00:11:55,146 whether it's making business services more efficient. 245 00:11:55,146 --> 00:11:56,080 Right. 246 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:57,114 It's a good time to be here. 247 00:11:57,114 --> 00:11:59,951 It is a good time to be here. I agree. 248 00:11:59,951 --> 00:12:03,688 So with with the with your election integrity push, 249 00:12:04,355 --> 00:12:07,825 how are you balancing that need with ensuring voter accessibility? 250 00:12:07,825 --> 00:12:10,661 You've talked about how the gateway card and of course like 251 00:12:10,661 --> 00:12:12,663 we could cast a provisional ballot. Yes. 252 00:12:12,663 --> 00:12:14,765 And that's just fine. Just not valid I.D.. 253 00:12:14,765 --> 00:12:15,766 That's right. 254 00:12:15,766 --> 00:12:16,834 How do you balance that need? 255 00:12:16,834 --> 00:12:21,405 Whenever I monitor the chatter, I see people on each side with concerns, 256 00:12:21,405 --> 00:12:24,408 and it just creates an opportunity to educate on our front. 257 00:12:24,609 --> 00:12:24,842 Yeah. 258 00:12:24,842 --> 00:12:29,080 So, you know, [...] it is a requirement to show a photo ID 259 00:12:29,213 --> 00:12:30,147 here in the state of Missouri. 260 00:12:30,147 --> 00:12:31,616 And there's certain things that 261 00:12:31,616 --> 00:12:35,720 that are proof of a photo ID actually, the biggest one is the driver's license. 262 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:40,992 I mean, you can't go almost anywhere without, having a photo ID. 263 00:12:41,158 --> 00:12:42,893 I mean, you go to the bank to cash a check, 264 00:12:42,893 --> 00:12:46,297 they ask for a photo ID, you know, sometimes even when you 265 00:12:46,330 --> 00:12:50,101 when you pay by check or have a credit card at a business, 266 00:12:50,101 --> 00:12:53,337 sometimes they might ask you a photo ID, you sign up for a cable 267 00:12:53,337 --> 00:12:56,574 TV service, they come to your home, they ask for a photo ID. 268 00:12:57,074 --> 00:12:58,175 I mean, there's not much that 269 00:12:58,175 --> 00:13:02,179 you can't do without a photo ID and so when I was in the legislature 270 00:13:02,179 --> 00:13:06,083 and supported this election integrity measure, you know, we made, 271 00:13:06,083 --> 00:13:08,586 there was a requirement, you know, to have a photo ID 272 00:13:08,586 --> 00:13:11,689 and we said, okay, well, what if what if you can't afford a photo ID 273 00:13:11,822 --> 00:13:13,190 or you don't have driver's license? 274 00:13:13,190 --> 00:13:15,893 And so we said, okay, we'll give you one for free. 275 00:13:15,893 --> 00:13:20,898 And so right now it's just been more of a educational opportunity, 276 00:13:21,232 --> 00:13:25,269 for voters and Missourians to say, okay, if, you know, 277 00:13:25,603 --> 00:13:28,572 that's what we're working on now, it's trying to help educate the public. 278 00:13:28,572 --> 00:13:31,342 Obviously, this November 279 00:13:31,342 --> 00:13:35,346 2024 election and August 2024 election, that we've also had 280 00:13:35,346 --> 00:13:39,016 the April 2025 election with municipal election. 281 00:13:39,183 --> 00:13:42,653 I mean, you had to have a photo ID when you, when, when you went in there. 282 00:13:42,653 --> 00:13:45,523 And so I think it's people are starting to realize that. 283 00:13:45,523 --> 00:13:47,124 And you mentioned provisional ballots. 284 00:13:47,124 --> 00:13:47,758 You know, obviously 285 00:13:47,758 --> 00:13:51,428 that's if you don't have a photo ID, you can file a provisional ballot. 286 00:13:51,695 --> 00:13:55,633 We've had that done in some of our, our local election authorities 287 00:13:55,633 --> 00:13:58,769 where somebody didn't bring their ID, a valid provisional ballot. 288 00:13:59,003 --> 00:13:59,703 Then they brought it, 289 00:13:59,703 --> 00:14:03,173 came back and brought their actual photo ID to prove who they were. 290 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,576 I love that you brought up about the free IDs. 291 00:14:05,576 --> 00:14:08,879 I remember hours and hours of hold up on the legislative floors 292 00:14:08,879 --> 00:14:12,016 of both chambers over the voter ID priority of the legislature. 293 00:14:12,016 --> 00:14:13,817 That's right. Like so much. 294 00:14:13,817 --> 00:14:17,922 And this office is giving out less than 60 of those. Yes. 295 00:14:17,922 --> 00:14:19,957 And that was just an interesting metric. 296 00:14:19,957 --> 00:14:21,892 Just seeing the guts of how government works 297 00:14:21,892 --> 00:14:24,728 and like that services available to people that. That's right. And that's good. 298 00:14:24,728 --> 00:14:27,231 And it'll be good to remember that context as we move forward. 299 00:14:27,231 --> 00:14:27,398 Right. 300 00:14:27,398 --> 00:14:29,667 Additional changes come down through the pipe too. 301 00:14:29,667 --> 00:14:30,801 Exactly. 302 00:14:30,801 --> 00:14:33,804 So let's talk about you a little bit. Yes. 303 00:14:34,104 --> 00:14:34,938 And it's kind of fun. 304 00:14:34,938 --> 00:14:39,009 Like I think the most fun part of this is like showcasing you Denny the person. 305 00:14:39,076 --> 00:14:41,345 Right. What do you do this weekend? 306 00:14:43,180 --> 00:14:44,648 So. Yeah, this this weekend? 307 00:14:44,648 --> 00:14:47,651 Well, I know where you’re going with this, this weekend, I did a duathlon. 308 00:14:48,018 --> 00:14:50,988 And so a lot of people like, hey, what's a duathlon? 309 00:14:50,988 --> 00:14:52,156 That's biking and running. 310 00:14:52,156 --> 00:14:54,191 And so no, duathlon is quite the same. 311 00:14:54,191 --> 00:14:56,960 We did, my wife and I, we made a New Year's resolution 312 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,130 last year in 2024, and we made it again this year 313 00:15:00,130 --> 00:15:04,735 that we would do it, run a 5K road race or do a duathlon once a month. 314 00:15:04,735 --> 00:15:09,773 And so last year we ran one or did duathlon every month. 315 00:15:09,773 --> 00:15:10,941 So 12 for 12. 316 00:15:10,941 --> 00:15:13,310 So far this year or five, five for 12. 317 00:15:13,310 --> 00:15:16,280 We've done five so far through the month of May. 318 00:15:16,313 --> 00:15:20,684 And so this past weekend, most of the time duathlon are combined with triathlons, 319 00:15:20,684 --> 00:15:26,590 a triathlon is swim, bike, run, a duathlon is usually run, bike run. 320 00:15:26,590 --> 00:15:27,825 Sometimes it's just bike run. 321 00:15:27,825 --> 00:15:30,427 But did the Kansas City, duathlon. 322 00:15:30,427 --> 00:15:33,363 And so we ran a mile and a half, biked 323 00:15:33,363 --> 00:15:37,434 12 miles and then ran three miles and, yes, 324 00:15:37,434 --> 00:15:40,437 that was yesterday morning in in like that was just yesterday. 325 00:15:40,437 --> 00:15:41,438 Yeah. Just. Yes. 326 00:15:41,438 --> 00:15:42,439 Yeah. Just yesterday. 327 00:15:42,439 --> 00:15:43,740 So usually start I, 328 00:15:43,740 --> 00:15:47,644 we wait to get up at the crack of dawn and make it up there, but, yeah. 329 00:15:47,644 --> 00:15:50,380 So I, you know, we did very well. 330 00:15:50,380 --> 00:15:52,516 I think I finished second of my age group. 331 00:15:52,516 --> 00:15:57,120 But I definitely paid the price the rest of yesterday because I was sore. 332 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,790 I'm still a little bit sore today, but, Yeah. 333 00:15:59,790 --> 00:16:04,294 So I did that yesterday, and I think there's one coming up in Jeff City. 334 00:16:04,294 --> 00:16:08,098 Actually, it's called the Prison Break Triathlon duathlon on. 335 00:16:08,098 --> 00:16:12,603 Maybe that's about June 8th, eighth or ninth, whatever that Sunday is. 336 00:16:12,836 --> 00:16:16,106 And so I think that's the next one that we'll be doing right here, 337 00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:17,541 right here in the capital city. 338 00:16:17,541 --> 00:16:19,176 Now, did I see you that your wife, Michelle, 339 00:16:19,176 --> 00:16:22,179 who is lovely, if you have not met her, she is just a hoot. 340 00:16:22,212 --> 00:16:22,980 She placed first. 341 00:16:22,980 --> 00:16:24,948 She did she placed first in her age group. 342 00:16:24,948 --> 00:16:27,250 And so yeah, very proud of her. 343 00:16:27,250 --> 00:16:27,484 Yeah. 344 00:16:27,484 --> 00:16:32,656 She, [...] She jokingly says, because I always take pictures of her 345 00:16:32,656 --> 00:16:36,660 and she's like, well, the only reason there's pictures of Michelle and not Denny 346 00:16:36,660 --> 00:16:39,763 is because Denny finishes before Michelle and could go take pictures. 347 00:16:39,763 --> 00:16:41,164 And so she's like, well, one of these 348 00:16:41,164 --> 00:16:43,400 I won't run and I'll just take pictures of you. 349 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,869 I said, no, you don't need to do that. So she always, 350 00:16:47,270 --> 00:16:48,739 by the pictures taken it, 351 00:16:48,739 --> 00:16:51,742 you can tell that she's having a lot more fun than I am. 352 00:16:51,775 --> 00:16:55,145 I have a more serious, look on my face 353 00:16:55,145 --> 00:16:59,149 when I'm in the middle of the bike ride or on some run, and. 354 00:16:59,416 --> 00:17:02,285 And then I get done and taking pictures of her. 355 00:17:02,285 --> 00:17:05,956 She's running around with their thumbs up and smiling and things like that. 356 00:17:05,956 --> 00:17:08,158 So it's it's, she she looks like, 357 00:17:08,158 --> 00:17:10,060 always looks like she's having a lot more fun than I am. 358 00:17:10,060 --> 00:17:11,728 She is always having a lot more fun. 359 00:17:11,728 --> 00:17:14,097 She is. But, like, you know, she's just generally. 360 00:17:14,097 --> 00:17:16,199 Well cool. Thank you so much for taking some time. 361 00:17:16,199 --> 00:17:17,868 You are a very busy man. 362 00:17:17,868 --> 00:17:20,971 Yes. You feel busier as a statewide official than you did as a legislator. 363 00:17:21,071 --> 00:17:23,540 I do. I it's a it's a different kind of busy though. 364 00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:27,644 I mean obviously the the legislature's in five months out of the year. 365 00:17:27,978 --> 00:17:30,046 That doesn't mean they only work five months. 366 00:17:30,046 --> 00:17:32,983 You know, they're back with their constituents and going to meetings 367 00:17:32,983 --> 00:17:36,853 and and if you're a state rep, you're you're running for reelection. 368 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,455 Run for reelection already 369 00:17:38,455 --> 00:17:42,726 since their terms only two years as a statewide elected official. 370 00:17:42,759 --> 00:17:43,760 I mean, we're year round. 371 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,564 And so, the vast majority of the time, you know, I usually 372 00:17:47,564 --> 00:17:50,667 I spend 3 to 4 days here in Jefferson City 373 00:17:50,934 --> 00:17:56,306 and then usually, one to 2 to 3 days, either back in Warrensburg 374 00:17:56,306 --> 00:17:58,708 or traveling across the state, going to public libraries, 375 00:17:58,708 --> 00:18:02,479 going to county clerk's offices, meeting with businesses and, and things like that. 376 00:18:02,479 --> 00:18:06,816 So, there's there's never a loss of anything to do. 377 00:18:06,816 --> 00:18:08,151 There's always something to do. 378 00:18:08,151 --> 00:18:10,053 And and keeping very busy, that's for sure. 379 00:18:10,053 --> 00:18:11,354 It's a beautiful state too. 380 00:18:11,354 --> 00:18:14,958 It is I enjoy Missouri Missouri's a great state and and, 381 00:18:15,292 --> 00:18:18,128 you know, there's a lot of a lot of differences between, 382 00:18:18,128 --> 00:18:20,864 you know, northern Missouri, where a lot of things are more flat. 383 00:18:20,864 --> 00:18:23,900 So you get down the boot hill, it's a lot more hilly down there. 384 00:18:23,900 --> 00:18:27,837 And, but there's I met so many good folks all across the state. 385 00:18:28,505 --> 00:18:30,106 Well, I appreciate you taking the time. 386 00:18:30,106 --> 00:18:31,741 I'm excited to do more of this. 387 00:18:31,741 --> 00:18:34,711 Like, I love the part of the job that it's just educating people. 388 00:18:34,711 --> 00:18:35,178 Right. 389 00:18:35,178 --> 00:18:36,680 That is very cool. 390 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,282 And of course we we need some names for our podcast. 391 00:18:39,282 --> 00:18:40,216 We do. We do. 392 00:18:40,216 --> 00:18:44,454 You know, we've talked about something to do with the red jacket 393 00:18:44,687 --> 00:18:47,690 if, if that could be incorporated into some sort of podcast. 394 00:18:47,690 --> 00:18:51,261 Because and for better or for worse, I'm known for wearing my red jacket. 395 00:18:51,694 --> 00:18:52,495 You own it. 396 00:18:52,495 --> 00:18:54,230 I'm going to own it. Yes, I want to own it. 397 00:18:54,230 --> 00:18:55,832 We've talked about something. 398 00:18:55,832 --> 00:18:57,133 We have a suggestion box here. 399 00:18:57,133 --> 00:19:00,036 We call it, straight to the secretary, where employees 400 00:19:00,036 --> 00:19:02,872 of the Secretary of state's office have got a red box and they can put. 401 00:19:02,872 --> 00:19:05,842 I'm the only one with the key, and they can put in ideas and suggestions 402 00:19:05,842 --> 00:19:10,046 on how to make the Secretary of state's office a better place, not only to work, 403 00:19:10,313 --> 00:19:16,519 but a better place, to serve Missourians and and new ways of doing things. 404 00:19:16,519 --> 00:19:19,556 So we talked about something like maybe straight from the secretary. 405 00:19:19,889 --> 00:19:23,493 But yeah, I, I'm excited about this podcast. 406 00:19:23,493 --> 00:19:27,030 I'm excited about, showing Missourians. 407 00:19:27,030 --> 00:19:28,431 I mean, there's so much we didn't talk about. 408 00:19:28,431 --> 00:19:32,202 I mentioned all those other divisions, excited about, you know, showing 409 00:19:32,202 --> 00:19:36,172 more Missourians what exactly we do here in the Secretary of State's office 410 00:19:36,172 --> 00:19:38,341 and how we can be a valuable resource. 411 00:19:38,341 --> 00:19:41,411 Thank you so much for listening to the Secretary's podcast. 412 00:19:41,411 --> 00:19:44,047 We can't wait to tell you what it's going to be called next time. 413 00:19:44,047 --> 00:19:45,415 Whenever we delve into the other 414 00:19:45,415 --> 00:19:49,485 divisions, the other projects, the other programs here at the office. 415 00:19:49,485 --> 00:19:50,253 Thank you so much.