Missouri lawmakers take another shot at a bill that would allow the Secretary of State to rewrite unfair ballot titles
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Missouri Supreme Court Justice knocked down a law last month that would allow the Secretary of State to rewrite unfair ballot summaries, instead of a judge. Lawmakers are taking another go at passing a similar law and making it stick this time.
Rep. John Simmons (R-Washington) introduced House Bill 3146 that would give Secretary of State Denny Hoskins three tries to rewrite ballot language if a judge finds it unfair. It would also increase the word limit from 50 to 100 words and require actions challenging the language to be completed 70 days before election day.
Simmons’ bill is closely modeled after Senate Bill 22, but omits one clause regarding the powers of the Attorney General.
Chief Justice Brent Powell wrote in his opinion that the SB 22 clause was unrelated to the original intent of the bill and declared the whole bill unconstitutional.
The House elections committee voted to pass HB 3146 on Tuesday. It was then referred to the administrative rules committee on Thursday. It is not on the agenda for the next meeting.
The law currently requires a judge to rewrite the ballot language.
For example, Cole County Judge Daniel Green ruled on Friday that language in a ballot summary that would make initiative petitions harder to pass was unconstitutional because it included what some call “ballot candy.”
Because SB 22 was knocked down last month, Green is in charge of rewriting the ballot language instead of sending it back to Hoskins.
Earlier this month, Hoskins admitted to writing biased ballot language for a referendum that would put the 2025 congressional map on the November ballot. In a lawsuit challenging the language. Hoskins’ legal team is asking a Cole County judge to allow the Secretary of State to rewrite the language.
The judge is now considering the state’s request and deliberating on arguments. A judgment hasn’t been issued.