Missouri voters, Secretary of State clash over ballot petitions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - Missouri voters rejected a measure that would have made it harder to change the state constitution, while the state’s top election official announced he will not certify separate citizen petitions aimed at limiting lawmakers’ ability to override voter-approved measures.

Amendment 4, which would have raised the threshold for amending the Missouri constitution, failed at the ballot box this week. On the same day, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced he would not certify a petition submitted by the Respect Missouri Voters campaign. Hoskins also issued a certificate of insufficiency for a separate HB1 referendum petition filed by People Not Politicians Missouri.

Respect Missouri Voters is holding a “Let MO Vote” rally Friday at noon outside the Secretary of State’s office in Jefferson City.

Hoskins explained he believes the Respect Missouri Voters petition violated the single subject rule.

“We only have a certain amount of words that we can use for that ballot summary, and when you try and cram all those many different provisions in there, it’s very unlikely that you could fit everything that the ballot initiative would do in such a small summary,” Hoskins said.

When asked whether the decisions were politically motivated, Hoskins said no.

“I would say I’m following the Missouri constitution,” Hoskins said.

Benjamin Singer, spokesperson and co-founder of the Respect Missouri Voters campaign, said the group was blindsided by Hoskins’ decision.

“We were really upset when we saw that the Secretary of State took this unprecedented and illegal step of saying, ' Sorry, you don’t get to go on the ballot,” Singer said.

Singer said Hoskins exceeded his authority.

“His job is Secretary of State. His job is to count the signatures and certify it for the ballot,” Singer said.

The Respect Missouri Voters petition, which gathered more than 367,000 signatures, would require ballot summaries to be clear and unbiased, preserve the citizen petition process, and make it harder for politicians to change or undo voter-approved measures.

Respect Missouri Voters supporters filed a lawsuit in Cole County Court challenging Hoskins’ decision. The campaign said Hoskins had previously approved the initiative for signature circulation before declaring it unconstitutional.

“For 118 years, Missourians have relied on citizen initiatives to take issues directly to the people, independent of the legislature,” Singer said. “We are confident the courts will uphold the law, protect the integrity of Missouri’s initiative process, and ensure Missourians retain their constitutional right to make their voices heard.”

People Not Politicians Missouri also filed a separate lawsuit against Hoskins over his insufficiency ruling on the HB1 referendum, which would allow voters to decide whether the state’s congressional maps become law.

“This is a blatant, illegal disregard for the referendum process that is enshrined in our state constitution. We will not allow Secretary Hoskins to defy our laws, the duties of his office, or the will of the people,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri.

People Not Politicians Missouri collected more than 305,000 signatures and met at least 130% of the required threshold in each congressional district, according to data the group shared.

A ruling in both lawsuits is needed by Sept. 8, when the November ballot must be certified.

Hoskins intends to hold his position.

“I’m gonna stand on principle. I’m gonna stand on the Missouri constitution. I’m gonna stay in the Missouri state law and protect Missouri from these out-of-state sugar daddies that are coming in here, thinking that they can buy the constitution, they can buy state law,” Hoskins said.

Gov. Mike Kehoe said in a statement that “special interests succeeded in keeping our Constitution vulnerable with the defeat of Amendment 4.”

“I will continue working to fight for election integrity, transparency, and a system that does not allow our Constitution to be up for sale,” Kehoe said.

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