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Missouri Amendment 1, English as Official State Language Measure (2008)
| Missouri Amendment 1 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic English language policy |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
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
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Missouri Amendment 1 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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2,407,536 | 86.31% | ||
| No | 381,874 | 13.69% | ||
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:
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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
The following is a list of state ballot measures to designate English as an official state language:
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
Footnotes
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State of Missouri Jefferson City (capital) |
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