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Missouri Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2022)

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Missouri Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2022)
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Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
Electoral systems
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment
Origin
Citizens

The Missouri Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (#85) was not on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.

This initiative would have amended the state constitution to require ranked-choice voting to be used for all federal, state, and local elections unless a local jurisdiction opts out through an ordinance or rule and announces with written notice to election officials at least 30 days before the election.[1][2]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for this initiative:[1]

Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:

  • require all elections beginning in 2026 for local, state, and federal elected offices to utilize ranked choice voting;
  • allow the number of choices a voter may rank to be no fewer than three per open seat;
  • allow a political subdivision, special district, or county to opt out by ordinance or rule, by providing at least thirty days written notice to the election authority prior to candidate filing; and
  • declare a candidate who receives a majority of votes to be certified the winner?

State and local governmental entities estimate no savings, one-time costs of at least $2.4 million, and ongoing costs of at least $375,000 each primary election, $311,000 each general election, and $286,000 for all other elections.[3]

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VIII, Missouri Constitution

The measure would amend section 24 of Article VIII of the state constitution. The full text of this initiative is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri

The state process

In Missouri, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election in six of the eight state congressional districts. Signatures must be filed with the secretary of state six months prior to the election.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot:

  • Signatures: The smallest possible requirement was 171,592 valid signatures. The actual requirement depends on the congressional districts in which signatures were collected.
  • Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 8, 2022.

Once the signatures have been filed with the secretary of state, the secretary copies the petition sheets and transmits them to county election authorities for verification. The secretary of state may choose whether the signatures are to be verified by a 5 percent random sample or full verification. If the random sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If more than 110 percent, the initiative is certified, and, if less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Details about this initiative

  • Connor Toth filed this initiative on January 24, 2022.[1]
  • On March 14, 2022, the secretary of state certified the ballot title of the initiative and cleared it for signature gathering.[2]
  • This initiative did not meet the signature requirements by the May 8, 2022 deadline.[4]

See also

External links

Footnotes