Amendment 4 would lessen penalties for petition signature fraud

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Voters are set to head to the polls and decide on Amendment 4, which would require approval of citizen-led petitions in every congressional district, prohibit foreign contributions and penalize petition fraud.

Part of the proposed amendment would explicitly define the constitutional crime of petition signature fraud, covering actions like signature forgery, submitting invalid petitions, or paying for signatures, and grant the attorney general exclusive authority to prosecute it.

Missouri statute already classifies signature fraud as a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a higher maximum fine of up to $10,000. Under the new constitutional amendment, the new maximum fine would be lowered by 90% to $1,000 if convicted.

Scott Charton, with the political action committee Missourians for Fair Governance, said he is concerned about why the proposed measure would reduce existing punishments for petition violations.

“For some reason known only to the politicians, Amendment 4 actually drops that potential fine to $1,000 for a violation. Why would they want to put a weaker penalty for petition fraud, and also for foreign donations? It baffles Missourians," he said.

State Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly), a cosponsor of the resolution that became Amendment 4, said the amendment lowers the maximum penalty to ensure consistency in the state's constitution. Fines for other crimes listed in the Missouri Constitution top out at a $1,000 find, Lewis said.

"What we were trying to do with the penalty provisions in the state constitution was to make those identical to the only other location in the state constitution where there was a penalty provision, and that's what it listed in the constitution, in another location, to try to make the constitution consistent," he said.

Charton argues that the proposed changes don't create new enforcement powers; they weaken existing penalties.

“It's a myth that prosecutors don't have the power now. It's laughable if the proponents of Amendment 4 say they're getting tough on ballot fraud, petition fraud and cracking down on foreign donations because we already have penalties," he said.

Lewis said constitutional protections carry a weight that regular statutes don't.

“Things that go into the Constitution are fundamental, and the fact that foreigners should not be changing our Constitution should be a fundamental, just because something is a statute that can be changed, when you put it in the Constitution, you're saying this is a thing that should not really be altered," he said.

Freedom Principle MO President Byron Keelin said that this shift is long overdue and argues that local boards and state ethics commissions often face procedural delays, while the AG has the power to act immediately.

"We need a law enforcement officer who can subpoena and have investigative authorities, and really, the Missouri Ethics Commission's only way that they can actually do something is if they have all of their commissioners in a room and have a quorum of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats,” he said.

Keelin adds that due to the quorum being needed, investigations cannot be completed promptly.

For a full breakdown of Amendment 4, you can check out our ABC 17 Voter Guide.