Democrats’ filibuster in Missouri Senate stalls approval of ballot initiative

(The Center Square) – A filibuster by Democrats in the Missouri Senate to stall a resolution to ask voters to alter how the constitution is change ended after more than 48 hours on Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, a candidate for the GOP nomination for secretary of state and sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 74, withdrew her motion on the legislation as Democrats gave no indication of stopping. It would place a proposal on a ballot asking citizens to change approval of initiative petitions from a simple majority in a statewide vote to a simple majority and a majority in five of the state’s eight congressional districts.

In addition to being against the resolution, Democrats want ballot language removed. The first sentence on the ballot deals with only U.S. citizens being allowed to vote and forbidding foreign countries from funding amendments, both already prohibited by state law. By an 18-13 vote on Wednesday, the Senate requested a conference with the House on the legislation.

In 2021, Gunnar Johanson, an attorney with expertise in election law, wrote an article published in the Missouri Law Review on the tension between the legislature and citizens who use the ballot to propose new laws in a statewide election.

“When I wrote this, I actually sent it to legislators on both side of the aisle,” Johanson said in an interview with The Center Square. “But it looks like they didn’t read it.”

The 22-page article reviewed recent conflicts, court decisions and the history of citizens getting items on the ballot.

“Without needed protections and reform, the initiative and referenda processes of Missouri are at risk of abuse by a legislature who has failed to show restraint,” Johanson wrote in his conclusion. “Citizens continue to use their rightful power to direct initiative and popular referendum.”

Johanson listed 13 large-scale policy proposals submitted by citizens through direct initiative in the last 20 years and reviewed the processes of both the legislature and citizens placing items on the ballot.

“Moving further than criticism or distaste, a number of Missouri officials are now questioning the entire initiative petition process,” Johanson wrote.

Johanson wrote the legislature possesses an “antagonistic disposition” towards the initiative petition. The legislature refused to fund voter-approved Medicaid expansion until the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the voters in 2021.

Citizens also recently led campaigns to legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana by a popular vote. After stalling in the legislature for years, signatures for an initiative to legalize sports wagering are being reviewed by the secretary of state and could be on the November ballot.

“I call it legislative neglect,” Johanson said. “Missourians have interest in certain policies. Instead of addressing those, the legislature neglects them and proceeds with their own extremist beliefs and platform. The citizens are left with these tools in the constitution.”

Johanson’s article noted several states place limits on the legislature’s power to amend and repeal citizen-initiated laws. In 26 states, constitutional amendments proposed by legislatures must be approved by 60% before they are placed on the ballot.

“Simple majority rule is common sense and already the law of the land in Missouri,” Marilyn McLeod, president of the League of Women Voters of Missouri, said in a statement regarding Coleman’s resolution. “One person, one vote.”

The organization highlighted the state’s Hancock Amendment, which implemented taxation and spending limits, as a successful citizen initiative. It also noted how Republican Gov. John Ashcroft in 1992 vetoed a bill approved by a Democratic-majority legislature to limit the initiative petition process.

“It is through the initiative process that those who have no influence with elective representatives may take their cause directly to the people,” Ashcroft, whose son Jay is secretary of state and running for the GOP nomination for governor, wrote in his veto letter.