Legislation to add a new barrier to amending the Missouri Constitution by initiative petition passed the state Senate on a party-line vote Feb. 22.
With 22 Republicans in favor and nine Democrats opposed, the Senate sent the House a proposal that would require a statewide majority and a majority vote in five of the state’s eight congressional districts to pass a constitutional amendment resulting from an initiative petition or a state convention.
Called a concurrent majority, analysis by The Missouri Independent found that as few as 23% of voters – a majority in the four districts with the lowest number of voters in 2020 and 2022 – could defeat a statewide ballot measure. Under the legislation, the concurrent majority requirement would not apply to proposals originating in the General Assembly.
The measure would amend the state constitution if approved in the House and by a simple majority of voters later this year.
The vote came just a few hours after the House voted on changes to the way initiative petition campaigns are conducted. Some of the major changes would require signature gatherers to be U.S. citizens and residents of Missouri for at least 30 days before circulating petitions. Another change would bar campaigns from paying circulators on a per-signature basis.
The House bill would also increase the power of the secretary of state and the attorney general to reject petitions and invalidate any signatures gathered if the ballot language is changed by a court action.
The bill passed on a 104-41 party-line vote. State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) said it would help prevent fraud. She claimed voter rolls are not being maintained.
“Everybody who knows me knows I see dead people,” Reisch said, “and I see dead people on voter rolls. It is rife with fraud.”
Feb. 26 marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of a constitutional amendment – proposed by a state constitutional convention – that eliminated non-citizen voting in Missouri. The right had been in place since 1865 for males who had declared their intent to become citizens.
Next Steps
Both Chambers will work the other’s bills
Both Bills – the House Bill and the Senate Bill – will need to be worked and approved by the other chamber. If there are any differences between the versions of the bills coming out of the other chamber, a committee of representatives from each chamber will work to iron out any differences before the bills are voted on by each of the full chambers.
Citizens will have the final say
If either bill is approved and signed by the governor, as a constitutional amendment, it must be presented to the citizens of Missouri for a vote before it becomes law. A simple majority of votes cast can either approve or overturn the measure. If approved during this legislative session, revising the petition initiative process could come to a vote by the citizens as early as the Nov. 2024 general election.