Cole County judge expected to strip provisions from initiative petition ballot measure

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Realtors and their legal partners are celebrating a victory after a Cole County judge ruled in their favor on a ballot measure that would change Missouri's initiative petition process.

Judge Daniel Green ruled from the bench Thursday that he would strip language that supporters and critics have called "ballot candy" from the question that will appear on ballots in November. The ballot measure would set higher thresholds for the approval of initiative petitions -- questions put on the ballot by public petition.

Recreational marijuana and Medicaid expansion are two recent examples of constitutional amendments approved by initiative petition.

The Missouri Realtors supported the lawsuit after the Missouri General Assembly voted last year to put the initiative petition changes before voters.

Green ruled that provisions to prevent foreign nationals from contributing to elections, punish signature-gathering fraud and require public comment on initiative petitions should be removed from the ballot summary, according to a release from Missourians for Fair Governance, the realtors' campaign committee. Those things are already in state law, Green ruled.

Green's official ruling is due March 4, including new ballot language. The defendants — Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, and legislative leaders — and lawyers for petitioner David Rogers have a Feb. 27 deadline to submit their proposed ballot language.