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Missouri's initiative petition process is at risk • Missouri Independent [1]
['More From Author', 'April', 'Julie Allen']
Date: 2023-04-19
The initiative petition process, used by Missourians to independently check special interests and bring issues to the voters for 115 years, is under attack by our Missouri Legislature.
The supermajority in the legislature, with no counterbalancing weight within their chambers, is leading the charge to undermine the initiative petition process. To carry out their scheme, politicians and lobbyists are using misleading wording to convince Missouri voters to curtail their voices.
The initiative petition process, in place since the early 1900s, is not partisan or aligned with a specific political party. It came from the voters. In fact, voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative petition process to allow Missourians to directly make their voices heard, introduced on the ballot by the Missouri Legislature.
Initiative petitions set the precedent for establishing a new constitution in 1920, creating the first highways, establishing the Missouri Conservation Department, limiting government taxation and spending through the Hancock amendment, marijuana legalization, and Medicaid expansion, to name a few.
Today our elected representatives fear Missourians making their voices heard and voters counterbalancing the wealthiest, special interests, and extreme agendas of political parties.
This is not the first time that politicians in power have tried to curtail the initiative process.
In the 1990s, the Democratic-led legislature attempted a similar ploy.
At the time, Republican Gov. Jay Ashcroft vetoed their effort and stated: “It is through the initiative process that those who have no influence with elected representatives may take their cause directly to the people … the General Assembly should be reluctant, therefore, to enact legislation which places any impediments on the initiative power which are inconsistent with the reservation found in the Constitution.”
Coincidentally, even Ashcroft’s son, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, makes it clear in his Make Your Voice Heard publication that the initiative petition process gives Missouri citizens the opportunity to directly participate in government.
Our Missouri legislature, functioning with a supermajority for the past 20 years, has failed to honor voter-approved initiative petition statutory changes. Instead, they have passed legislation in subsequent legislative sessions that rewrites the voter-approved changes. Examples include voter-approved initiative petitions that placed restrictions on large puppy mill operations and a 2009 school funding measure as part of casino taxes. Because of this disregard for Missourians’ voices, initiative petitions brought before Missourians today are primarily constitutional amendments.
Some concerns have been expressed about constitutional amendments being made.
Although constitutional amendments passed by voters through an initiative petition are a small number, the legislature could pass a law restricting future legislators from rewriting or overturning voter-approved initiative petition statutory changes – thereby reducing the need for constitutional amendments.
Recently the legislature once again disregarded Missourians’ voices — wasting taxpayer dollars in legal fees and court costs — by refusing to implement Medicaid expansion. Only through the Missouri Supreme Court’s intervention were the legislature and governor compelled to fund and implement the expansion that provides a health-care lifeline to the working poor as well as economic-lifelines to rural and urban hospitals.
The initiative petition process as defined today is not easy. It takes money, many volunteers and hundreds of hours to gather signatures.
In fact, many call the process onerous. Not all attempted initiative petitions even obtain enough registered voters’ signatures to be placed before voters, and not all are approved at the ballot box. Only 28 of 69 constitutional amendments have been voter-approved in the past century.
Yet, our legislators are not satisfied.
The proposed changes effectively moves the initiative petition process from being a grass roots process to creating it for use by the special interests with the wealth and resources. Even worse, to trick voters into voting “yes” on their proposal to restrict the ballot initiative, they plan to use misleading language. Their wording infers Missourians would be voting on whether a voter must be a U.S. citizen. Already enshrined in the Missouri constitution, Article VII, Section II, is the requirement that all voters must be citizens of the United States.
Do not let your voice be silenced. Do not give away your right to support or oppose initiative petitions brought by the people.
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