Court Places Amendment 6 On the Ballot

On September 3rd, the Missouri Independent and other news outlets and interest groups ruled that Amendment 6, which restricts the ability of the legislature to revise or overturn voter-passed initiatives, will be on the ballot. Previously, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green had ruled that the measure could not be on the ballot because it had more than one subject matter. 

On August 4th, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins issued a “certificate of insufficiency” declaring that the measure was unconstitutional, citing a letter from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. However, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ginger Gooch, writing for a unanimous court, ruled that Mr. Hoskins’ certificate failed to identify a reason why the petition was insufficient and thus preserved nothing for the court’s review. Judge Gooch wrote that nearly all the Secretary’s claims involved hypothetical scenarios which could occur, not situations that actually happened.

The group Respect Mo Voters had circulated petitions and obtained more than 350,000 signatures to put Amendment 6 on the ballot. 

As quoted by the Independent, Eric Bronner, co-founder of Veterans for All Voters, which supported the measure, said, “For more than 118 years, Missourians have had the power to put issues directly before the voters. Amendment 6 is about protecting that right and making sure that when Missourians vote for something, politicians can’t simply undo their decision after the election.” The measure was pushed in response to a failed legislative measure that would have made it much more difficult for voters to pass an initiative petition, requiring passage in all congressional districts, not just a simple majority. Measures placed on the ballot by the legislature still would have required a simple majority. 

In a news release, Missouri Right to Life Executive Director Susan Klein wrote, in part, “The State of Missouri, consistent with the vision of our founding fathers, is a representative democracy. We elect senators and representatives to research and draft complex laws. Amendment 6 would stifle this process and cripple representative democracy in Missouri forever."

The Independent noted that in order to overturn a voter-passed initiative petition, a bill would have to have 131 votes in the House and 28 in the Senate. Republicans currently control 111 seats in the House and 24 in the Senate.