CREDIT: Missouri House Democrats Weekly Bulletin
The Missouri House of Representatives on April 3 voted 106-49 to approve its version of legislation to undermine majority rule in the state by enabling a minority of voters to block ratification of future constitutional amendments supported by the majority. A day earlier, a House committee voted to advance a similar measure that already has passed the Senate.
The legislation is part of a last-ditch Republican effort to thwart a proposed amendment to restore abortion rights in the state that is expected to be placed on the November ballot by initiative petition.
Both the House and Senate versions seek to impose a concurrent majority requirement of both a simple majority of votes cast statewide, as well as approval in at least five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. Ratification traditionally has required only a simple statewide majority. According to an analysis by the Missouri Independent, it would be mathematically possible under this system for just 23 percent of voters to thwart ratification.
House Joint Resolution 86 also includes several pieces of so-called “ballot candy” – unrelated provisions intended to deceive voters into supporting legislation they likely otherwise would oppose. Those provisions include specifying that non-citizens can’t vote and that foreign governments can’t sponsor or finance initiatives – provisions that merely reinforce existing law.
Although the Senate stripped the ballot candy from its version – Senate Joint Resolution 74 -- prior to passage, the House Elections Committee restored it before voting along party lines to send the measure to the full House for debate. However, changing SJR 74 in the House would require the measure to return to the Senate. Since the ballot candy was removed to overcome a Democratic filibuster, its chances of winning another Senate vote are uncertain.
If either SJR 74 or HJR 86 clears the legislature, it automatically would go on
the Nov. 5 general election ballot. However, it is expected Gov. Mike Parson, a
Republican, would exercise his authority to move the measure to the Aug. 6
primary election in order for the concurrent majority requirement to have a
chance of being approved before the November abortion rights vote.