Missouri signature requirements
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Missouri signature requirements for ballot initiatives are among the more complicated in the country.
The number of signatures required in Missouri for either an initiated constitutional amendment or an initiated state statute depends on which six of Missouri's nine (9) federal congressional districts the sponsors of an initiative choose to collect signatures in for qualification purposes.
- For an initiated statute, the number of signatures required is 5% of the total vote cast for governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election in 6 out of 9 congressional districts.
- For an initiated amendment, the number of signatures required is 8% of the total vote cast for governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election in 6 out of 9 congressional districts.[1]
- For a veto referendum, the requirement is the same as for an initiated statute.
2010 requirements
| Congressional district | 2008 gubernatorial vote | Rank (among districts) | Statute | Amendment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 301,597 | 8 | 15,080 | 24,128 |
| 2nd | 382,957 | 1 | 19,148 | 30,637 |
| 3rd | 312,172 | 5 | 15,609 | 24,974 |
| 4th | 306,260 | 7 | 15,313 | 24,501 |
| 5th | 311,686 | 6 | 15,585 | 24,935 |
| 6th | 330,826 | 2 | 16,542 | 26,467 |
| 7th | 325,991 | 4 | 16,300 | 26,080 |
| 8th | 278,604 | 9 | 13,931 | 22,289 |
| 9th | 328,315 | 3 | 16,416 | 26,266 |
2008 requirements
| Congressional district | 2004 gubernatorial vote | Rank (among districts) | Statute | Amendment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | | | | |
| 2nd | | | | |
| 3rd | | | | |
| 4th | | | | |
| 5th | | | | |
| 6th | | | | |
| 7th | | | | |
| 8th | | | | |
| 9th | | | |
Other requirements
Missouri has a number of restrictions on the signature-collection process.
- Circulators must be at least 18.
- Circulators are required to register with the government, and signatures collected by a circulator who has not done so on or before the petition filing deadline do not count as valid signatures (regardless of signer intent).
- Each page of an initiative or referendum petition can contain signatures of voters from only one county. Each petition sheet is to contain a county designation in its upper right-hand corner. Signatures of voters from counties other than the designated county do not count as valid.
- All petition pages must be submitted at one time to the Missouri Secretary of State.
- When signatures are filed, the initiative sponsor is required to submit paperwork to the government that shows the number of petition pages per county and circulator reports.
- Signature pages must be in order and numbered sequentially. If they are not, the signatures are discarded.
- The page number and county in which the petition signers on a given page are registered to vote must be designated in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
- The county in which the petition signers are registered to vote must be designated in the paragraph at the top of the petition page which begins with “We, the undersigned…”
- When petition signatures are filed, petition pages are to be arranged in file folders limited to 100 pages per folder. Folders are be labeled with the contents.
- "File folders should be placed in cardboard file boxes clearly labeled with the contents."
- For 2010, "A completed 'Circulator Registration Form' must be filed for each circulator of each petition on or before 5:00 pm on May 2, 2010."
See also
- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Missouri
- Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri
- Missouri Initiative and Referendum Law
- History of Initiative & Referendum in Missouri
- Petition drive deadlines in 2008
External links
- Missouri signature requirements collated by the Citizens in Charge Foundation
