Committee considers lowering candidate filing fees; do-pass motion fails

St. Louis City — The Board of Aldermen’s Legislation and Rules Committee on Tuesday considered Board Bill 5, which would lower candidate filing fees to a flat $100 for aldermanic candidates and $250 for citywide offices, but a motion for a do-pass recommendation failed.

The bill, introduced by Alderman Velda Browning, would replace the current rule that ties filing fees to 1% of the office salary — a formula that currently makes the filing fee for alderpersons more than $700. "This is about democracy. It's about equal access to ballot," Browning said while presenting the measure and asking the committee for a do-pass recommendation.

The bill also clarifies that filing fees go to the city’s general fund (a practice in place since 2021) and preserves the signature requirement for candidates. Casey Milberg, policy director in the mayor's office, told the committee: "The Mayor's Office is very supportive of this." Ben Borgmeyer, democratic director at the Board of Election Commissioners, said the change would bring St. Louis in line with surrounding offices: "I think this bill does put the filing fee in line with other offices."

Public comment included opposition from a resident, Sean Faust, who argued the fee provides "skin in the game" and warned that reducing it could encourage frivolous candidacies: "I don't see changing this as, beneficial to the city, or increasing our democratic participation, small d." Committee members asked about signature thresholds and the history of the 1% rule; Browning said the signature requirement — 2% of the votes cast for mayor in the ward at the last municipal election — remains in place and is the principal hurdle to ballot access.

Several committee members voiced support for the bill as a cleanup measure and an access improvement. President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed (President Green) said he is "in supportive support of, this bill and wanna thank Alderman Browning for working on this." Alderman Narayan said he was not ready to support the change, pointing to signature requirements as a larger barrier for some voters and potential candidates: "I I'm I'm not really in favor, of this right now."

A motion to give Board Bill 5 a do-pass recommendation was made and seconded. During the clerk's roll call, recorded votes included Vice Chair DeVose (aye), Chair Velasquez (aye), President Green (aye), Alderman Cone (no) and Alderman Lorraine (no). The committee chair later stated the bill did not pass. The transcript records the outcome as the motion failing.

Browning estimated the fiscal impact to general revenue at roughly $10,000–$15,000 every other year, noting the amount depends on the number of challengers and which citywide offices are on the ballot. Committee members and witnesses contrasted St. Louis’s current fee structure with surrounding jurisdictions: county offices in St. Louis County use a $100 flat fee, statewide offices are higher, and Kansas City, Mo., uses only signature thresholds for some offices.

The committee had no resolutions for review and no written testimony was submitted for this bill. Browning asked to be added as a co-sponsor of cleanup or follow-up election-code revisions; President Green asked to be added as a cosponsor to this bill.

The committee did not advance Board Bill 5; members discussed returning to election-code cleanup and possible future legislation addressing signature thresholds or party-designated routing of filing fees. No final ordinance or charter change was adopted at the meeting.