Ruling upholds secretary of state’s earlier rejection of measure
A Cole County circuit judge on Wednesday rejected a petition seeking to place a proposed constitutional amendment on Missouri’s November ballot that would have created some of the nation’s strongest protections for laws passed through citizen initiative. The ruling by Judge Daniel Green upholds Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’s decision to block the measure, which Hoskins said violated the state constitution by containing multiple subjects and restricting a republican form of government.
The ruling is expected to be appealed. Under Missouri law, citizen initiatives qualify for the ballot when petition sponsors collect enough valid signatures, though the secretary of state has authority to reject measures deemed unconstitutional.
The proposed amendment would have erected constitutional protections for citizen-initiated laws and amendments. Organizers collected thousands of signatures before Hoskins, a Republican, removed the proposal from consideration.
Hoskins cited two constitutional grounds in blocking the amendment. He asserted that the proposal violated the state constitution by containing multiple subjects. He also argued the measure restricted a republican form of government.
The case was heard in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, the state capital. Green’s ruling came Wednesday and is expected to be appealed.