Missouri Amendment 1, English as Official State Language Measure (2008)

Missouri Amendment 1
Election date November 4, 2008
Topic English language policy
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Missouri Amendment 1 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Missouri on November 4, 2008. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported requiring all official proceedings of public governmental bodies to be conducted in English, whether held in person or through communication equipment, such as the internet.

A "no" vote opposed requiring all official proceedings of public governmental bodies to be conducted in English, whether held in person or through communication equipment, such as the internet.

Election results

Missouri Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,407,536	86.31%
No		381,874	13.69%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 1 was as follows:

“

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated whether conducted in person or by communication equipment including conference calls, video conferences, or Internet chat or message board? It is estimated this proposal will have no costs or savings to state or local governmental entities.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated. This includes meetings conducted in person or by other means of communication including conference calls, video conference, Internet chat, or Internet message board. A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated. This proposition will have no impact on taxes.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Background

See also: History of English as official language ballot measures and laws

The following is a list of state ballot measures to designate English as an official state language:

State official language ballot measures
State	Year	Measure	Origin	Language(s)	Yes	No	Outcome
Nebraska	1920	Amendment 3: English as Official State Language	Convention	English	83.63%	16.37%	a
Hawaii	1978	Amendment 31: Preamble, Official Languages, and Motto Measure	Convention	English and Hawaiian	69.72%	30.28%	a
California	1986	Proposition 63: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	73.25%	26.75%	a
Arizona	1988	Proposition 106: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	50.50%	49.50%	a
Colorado	1988	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	61.15%	38.85%	a
Florida	1988	Amendment 11: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	83.87%	16.13%	a
Alabama	1990	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	88.52%	11.48%	a
Alaska	1998	Measure 6: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	68.60%	31.40%	a
Utah	2000	Initiative A: English as Official State Language	Initiative	English	67.18%	32.82%	a
Arizona	2006	Proposition 103: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	74.00%	26.00%	a
Missouri	2008	Amendment 1: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	86.31%	13.69%	a
Oklahoma	2010	State Question 751: English as Official State Language	Legislature	English	75.54%	24.46%	a
Idaho	2026	HJR 6: English as Official State Language Amendment	Legislature	English	TBD	TBD	TBD

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the Missouri House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Missouri State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

See also

2008 Measures

• 2008 Measures
• English language policy on the ballot
• 2008 legislative sessions

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls