Shawn Griffiths
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins admitted in a recent court filing that he rejected a proposed amendment that makes it harder for the legislature to weaken the citizen initiative process—even though it had the required signatures.
Respect Missouri Voters filed a lawsuit to force Hoskins to put the initiative, which he claimed violated the state’s single subject rule, on the ballot. Designated Amendment 6, the initiative amends the state constitution in the following ways:
- It enshrines the initiative and referendum petition process as a fundamental right;
- It requires ballot summaries and titles to be “clear, unbiased, fair, accurate, and easy to understand”;
- It allows courts to revise ballot summaries in the event of a lawsuit;
- It prohibits state legislators from weakening or altering ballot initiative powers;
- It prohibits the legislature from repealing or changing laws enacted through a citizen initiative or passing laws that violate the initiative through simple majority;
- If the legislature attempts to repeal, alter, or pass opposing legislation, the proposed bill must pass with at least 80% of both chambers; and
- It preserves the simple majority needed by Missouri voters to pass citizen initiatives.
Nearly 370,000 petitions were submitted to put Amendment 6 on the ballot. This far exceeded the roughly 110,000 valid signatures required to qualify.
When Hoskins declared Amendment 6 unconstitutional— well after he approved it for petition circulation— he refused to tell reporters how many signatures it got. However, a recent court filing indicates that it had what it needed:
“Instead of letting Missourians vote, Hoskins is blocking the petition even as his own court filing admits that our volunteers gathered more than enough signatures," said Benjamin Singer, co-founder of Respect MO Voters.
"The Secretary of State is responsible for reviewing signatures to certify a petition so the people of Missouri can be heard. Politicians cannot simply disregard our century-old constitutional freedom to petition.”
A trial on the lawsuit is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18.
Hoskins waited until August 4, the last date Missouri law allowed, to announce his decision on Amendment 6. At the time, Respect MO Voters called it a “brazen disregard for the will of the people.”
That same day, more than 80% of voters rejected Amendment 4, which would have imposed tougher initiative rules by requiring an amendment measure to be approved by a majority of voters in each congressional district rather than a statewide majority.
“The Amendment 4 outcome reaffirms what we already know – Missouri voters are determined to protect their constitutional right to petition and have their voices heard,” Singer said.
“Missourians—not politicians—should decide the future of our state, and voters deserve the opportunity to decide Amendment 6 for themselves.”
It is not the only lawsuit Hoskins faces. On August 4, he also declared a referendum initiative to overturn a legislative gerrymander unconstitutional, claiming the legislature’s redistricting authority cannot be overturned by voters.
That initiative, pushed by People Not Politicians, submitted over 300,000 signatures—a third of which Hoskins already refused to count. He declared that he would do everything in his power to protect the new congressional map put in place for the midterms.