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Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2022)
| Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Electoral systems and Elections and campaigns | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative was not on the ballot in Missouri as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
Overview
What would the ballot initiative have changed about elections in Missouri?
The ballot initiative would have changed the electoral system for electing state executive, state legislative, and congressional officials in Missouri beginning on August 1, 2024.[1]
- The ballot initiative would have replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices.[1]
- The ballot initiative would have established ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting, for general elections, in which voters can rank the four candidates that succeeded from the primaries.[1]
The ballot initiative would also have required that each voting machine can produce an “individual, permanent paper record for each vote cast” that the voter can inspect and that must be preserved for use in an election audit.[1]
Measure design
Click on the arrows (▼) below for summaries of the different provisions of the ballot initiative.
Adoption of top-four primaries: replace partisan primaries with top-four primaries for state and congressional offices
The ballot initiative would replace partisan primaries with top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices.[1]
As of 2022, the state of Missouri used open primaries in which voters selected a partisan ballot and voted for a party's nominee for the general election.
The ballot initiative would require candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, for an office to run in a single primary election. Primary ballots would be required to include a spot for write-in candidates. Voters would cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. The four candidates that receive the greatest number of votes would move on to the general election.[1]
Adoption of ranked-choice voting: use ranked-choice voting in general elections for state and congressional offices
The ballot initiative would adopt ranked-choice voting for the state and congressional elections on general election ballots.[1]
As of 2022, the state of Missouri used a plurality voting system, also known as first-past-the-post, in which the candidate that receives the highest number of votes wins the election. The candidate need not win an outright majority (50%+1) to be elected. Voters cast a single vote.
The ballot initiative would have voters rank the four general election candidates for an office in order of preference. A candidate would need a simple majority of the vote (50%+1) to be declared the winner of an election. If no candidate wins a simple majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. People who voted for that candidate as their first choice would have their votes redistributed to their second choice. The tabulation process would continue as rounds until there are two candidates remaining, and the candidate with the greatest number of votes would be declared the winner.[1]
The ballot initiative would require the following instructions on general election ballots that use ranked-choice voting: “You may mark up to four choices in order of preference. Making a second choice cannot help defeat your first choice. Making a subsequent choice cannot help defeat your higher-ordered choices.”[1]
Requirements for voting machines and paper records: create a constitutional provision on voting machines, paper records, and rights for candidates to be present at counts and audits
The ballot initiative would also provide that voting machines “be tested and certified as secure prior to each election in which the machine will be used.” The testing would be required to meet federal standards.[1]
The ballot initiative would also require that each voting machine can produce an “individual, permanent paper record for each vote cast” that the voter can inspect and that must be preserved for use in an election audit. The ballot initiative would state that a candidate, or the candidate’s designee, has the right to be present whenever paper ballots or permanent paper records are counted, audited, or placed in storage.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative was follows:[2]
| “ | Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
State and local governmental entities estimate costs of $2.7 million to at least $5.2 million in one-time costs, and ongoing costs of at least $27,000 annually, $170,000 each primary election, $152,000 each general election, and $117,000 for all other elections. State and local governmental entities estimate no savings.[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VIII, Missouri Constitution
The ballot measure would have added Sections 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29 to Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined text would be added, and struck-through text would be deleted:[4]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
Section 24. 1. Every voting machine used to conduct an election in the State of Missouri shall be tested and certified as secure prior to each election in which the machine will be used. Such testing and certification shall meet all federal standards.
2. Every voting machine used to conduct an election in the State of Missouri shall produce an individual, permanent paper record for each vote cast, which shall be made available for inspection and verification by the voter at the time the vote is cast. Such individual, permanent paper record shall be preserved for use in any election audit.
3. The candidate or their designee shall have the right to be present whenever paper ballots or the permanent paper records produced by electronic voting machines are counted, audited, or placed in storage.
Section 25. 1. Beginning at the August 2024 primary election, and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, primary elections for all statewide offices, members of the Missouri General Assembly, and members of the United States Congress shall be open primaries where the four candidates for each office receiving the most votes advance to the general election.
2. Primary ballots for all statewide offices, members of the Missouri General Assembly, and members of the United States Congress shall meet the following criteria:
- (1) All candidates for an office shall appear on a single ballot.
- (2) Primary ballots shall include space for a write-in candidate for such offices.
3. In the primary election for all statewide offices, members of the Missouri General Assembly, and members of the United States Congress, a qualified voter shall be permitted to cast a vote for any candidate for whom that voter is otherwise eligible to vote. A qualified voter shall only vote for one candidate for each office.
4. The four candidates for each office receiving the most votes in the primary election shall advance to the general election for that office. Only those candidates shall appear on the general election ballot.
5. If two or more candidates receive an equal number of votes for the same office, such that there is a tie for fourth place, such candidates or their designees shall have the right to draw lots to determine whose name shall appear on the general election ballot. If a candidate declines to participate, the election authority may draw lots on their behalf.
Section 26. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
- (1) “Active Candidate”, a candidate who has not been eliminated during an instant runoff tabulation.
- (2) “Overvote”, a vote in which the qualified voter has indicated a preference for more than one candidate at the same placement order.
- (3) “Order” or “Placement Order”, the number a qualified voter assigns to a candidate indicating that voter's preference, with 1 being the highest placement order and 4 being the lowest placement order.
2. Beginning at the November 2024 general election, and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, general elections for all statewide offices, members of the Missouri General Assembly, and members of the United States Congress shall be instant runoff elections in which a qualified voter may indicate their preferred candidate order on the ballot.
3. In a general election conducted under this section, each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ordered, Active Candidate on that ballot.
4. If, after the initial tabulation, an Active Candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, that candidate is elected and tabulation is complete.
5. If, after the initial tabulation, an Active Candidate has not received a majority of the highest-ordered votes cast, votes shall be tabulated as follows:
- (1) The candidate receiving the fewest number of votes shall be eliminated.
- (2) For each ballot cast for an eliminated candidate, the official conducting the tabulation shall determine the highest-ordered, Active Candidate on the ballot. The vote cast on that ballot shall be added to the total number of votes received by that Active Candidate.
- (3) Votes shall be tabulated pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection until an Active Candidate receives the majority of the remaining votes.
6. If a ballot has a placement order that does not contain any candidate, and there are no Active Candidates at a higher placement order, the ballot shall count as a vote for the highest-ordered Active Candidate listed after that placement order, if any.
7. Ballots shall not be included in the tabulation process in subsection 5 only if:
- (1) The ballot does not include an Active Candidate at any placement order; or
- (2) The ballot contains an Overvote that includes the highest-ordered, Active Candidate at any point during the tabulation process.
8. If two or more candidates are tied with an equal and lowest number of votes, and the tabulation in subsection 5 cannot continue until the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated, the candidate to be eliminated shall be determined by such candidates or their designees drawing lots to determine who shall be eliminated. Should a candidate decline to participate, the election authority shall draw lots on their behalf.
9. Ballots shall be laid out to allow voters to indicate their preferred candidate order. The ballot shall be simple and easy to understand, consistent with best practices.
10. Instructions on the general election ballot shall include the following statement: “You may mark up to four choices in order of preference. Marking a second choice cannot help defeat your first choice. Marking a subsequent choice cannot help defeat your higher-ordered choices.”
11. Beginning at least one hundred twenty days before the first election utilizing the instant runoff system, the Secretary of State and local election authorities shall conduct a voter education campaign to familiarize voters with the instant runoff voting system.
12. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the aggregated vote totals from the initial tabulation shall be used, as may be required by any other law, for the purposes of identifying the two major political parties.
Section 27. 1. Beginning August 1, 2024, and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a special election shall be called to fill any vacancy in a statewide office, office of member of the Missouri General Assembly, and office of member of the United States Congress.
2. A special election to fill a vacancy in any such office shall be conducted pursuant to the primary and general election processes described in Sections 25 and 26 of this Article.
Section 28. The Secretary of State shall issue rules and regulations necessary to implement Sections 24 to 27 of this Article. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of such Sections shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the requirements provided by law.
Section 29. If any provision of Sections 24, 25, 26, or 27 or the application thereof to anyone or to any circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of those provisions and the application of such provisions to others or other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.[3]
Support
Better Elections led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.[5]
Supporters
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Political Parties
Arguments
Campaign finance
The Better Elections PAC was registered to support the ballot measure. The PAC raised $6.83 million, of which 98.7% came from the organization Article IV.[6]
Ballotpedia had not identified a PAC in opposition to the ballot measure.[6]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $4,103,123.00 | $2,730,798.51 | $6,833,921.51 | $4,052,212.41 | $6,783,010.92 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $4,103,123.00 | $2,730,798.51 | $6,833,921.51 | $4,052,212.41 | $6,783,010.92 |
Support
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the measure.[6]
| Committees in support of Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2022) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Better Elections | $4,103,123.00 | $2,730,798.51 | $6,833,921.51 | $4,052,212.41 | $6,783,010.92 |
| Total | $4,103,123.00 | $2,730,798.51 | $6,833,921.51 | $4,052,212.41 | $6,783,010.92 |
Donors
The following were the top donors to the committee.[6]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article IV | $4,012,978.00 | $2,727,721.57 | $6,740,699.57 |
| John F. McDonnell Rev. Trust | $50,000.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 |
| Represent.Us Education Fund | $0.00 | $3,076.94 | $3,076.94 |
Background
Top-four primary election
- See also: Top-four primary
As of 2021, Alaska was the sole state to adopt a top-four primary for state and federal elections. Voters adopted the system in November 2020. In a top-four primary, candidates for an office, regardless of party affiliation, are listed on a single ballot. The top four vote-getters advance to the general election.
California and Washington passed ballot initiatives to replace their partisan primaries with top-two primaries, in which the two candidates receiving the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, proceed to the general election. Voters in Florida defeated a top-two primary ballot initiative, titled Amendment 3, at the election on November 3, 2020.
Learn more about top-two primary ballot measures:
| Ballot measures related to primary election systems | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Measure | System type | Yes votes (%) | No votes (%) | Outcome |
| 2004 | Washington Initiative 872 | Top-two primary | 59.85% | 40.15% | 
|
| 2004 | California Proposition 62 | Blanket primary | 46.17% | 53.83% |  |
| 2008 | Oregon Measure 65 | Top-two primary | 34.06% | 65.94% | |
| 2010 | California Proposition 14 | Top-two primary | 53.73% | 46.27% |
|
| 2012 | Arizona Proposition 121 | Top-two primary | 33.07% | 66.93% | |
| 2014 | Oregon Measure 90 | Top-two primary | 31.77% | 68.23% | |
| 2020 | Florida Amendment 3 | Top-two primary | 57.03%[7] | 42.97% | |
Ranked-choice voting
- See also: Ranked-choice voting
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a voting method in which voters rank candidates according to their preference and ballots are processed in rounds. The candidate in the last place is eliminated during each round and the voters' second choices get their votes. The process is continued until a candidate wins a simple majority (50 percent plus one) of the vote.
As of 2021, one state (Maine) had implemented RCV at the state level, eight states contained jurisdictions that had implemented RCV at some level, and another five states contained jurisdictions that had adopted but not yet implemented RCV in local elections.
How ranked-choice voting works
Broadly speaking, the ranked-choice voting process (sometimes referred to as instant runoff voting) unfolds as follows:
- Voters rank the candidates for a given office by preference on their ballots.
- If a candidate wins an outright majority of first-preference votes (i.e., 50 percent plus one), he or she will be declared the winner.
- If, on the other hand, no candidates win an outright majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.
- All first-preference votes for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots.
- A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won an outright majority of the adjusted voters.
- The process is repeated until a candidate wins a majority of votes cast.
Alaska Ballot Measure 2 (2020)
Alaska voters approved Alaska Ballot Measure 2, Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting and Campaign Finance Laws Initiative (2020) in 2020. Ballot Measure 2 required persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources (as defined in law) of the political contributions; replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices; and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election, in which voters would rank the candidates.
Massachusetts Question 2 (2020)
Massachusetts voters defeated Question 2 in November 2020. It would have enacted ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional and senate seats, and certain county offices beginning in 2022. It was defeated by a margin of 54.78% opposing to 45.22% supporting.
New York City Ballot Question 1 (2019)
New York City voters approved Ballot Question 1 in 2019, making New York City the most populous jurisdiction in the U.S. to approve the use of the ranked-choice voting election method. Question 1 provides for ranked-choice voting in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and city council members. It allows voters to rank in order of preference up to five candidates, including a write-in candidate. Before the measure, the city’s charter provided for plurality voting, also known as first-past-the-post, and run-off elections, depending on the office and type of election.
Maine Question 5 (2016)
On November 8, 2016, voters approved a ballot initiative—Maine Question 5—to establish a first-in-the-nation statewide system of ranked-choice voting. Voters approved the initiative 52.12 to 47.88 percent. Support for the initiative was stronger in southern coastal Maine, whereas the counties along the state's northern border with Canada voted against the measure.
Question 5 defined ranked-choice voting as "the method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final round is elected."[8]
Path to the ballot
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
- On July 30, 2021, David Roland filed the two versions of the initiative.[2]
- Roland filed Initiative #51 and Initiative #52. The campaign selected #51 for signature gathering. The #51 version was designed to allow the party affiliation of candidates to be featured on the open primary ballot. The #52 version would have prohibited the party affiliation from being featured on the ballot.Cite error: Closing
</ref>missing for<ref>tag - On September 7, 2021, the secretary of state cleared the initiative for signature gathering.[2]
- In January 2022, the sponsors filed a lawsuit against the secretary of state in a Cole County Circuit Court. The lawsuit argues the secretary of state should develop a formal rule for when to use random sampling because doing so could give the governor the option to place the initiative on the primary ballot where there will likely be lower turnout. The lawsuit says, "Generally, the August election ballot is viewed as less favorable to initiative petitions. Secretary Ashcroft has publicly opposed the initiatives. ... The public interest favors ensuring that each and every signature turned in with initiative petitions are counted and verified."[9]
- On March 15, 2022, Scott Charton, a spokesperson for Better Elections, said that petitioners had collected signatures from every county in the state and the city of St. Louis. Charton did not say how many signatures the campaign had collected.[10]
- On May 8, 2022, the Better Elections campaign stated that it had submitted more than 300,000 signatures with their petition.[11]
- On July 18, 2022, the Missouri Independent reported that the initiative campaign did not have sufficient signatures in Missouri's 1st District, according to incomplete tabulations from Secretary Ashcroft's office.[12]
- On August 9, 2022, Secretary Ashcroft announced that the initiative had an insufficient amount of valid signatures to qualify it for the ballot.[13]
See also
External links
Support |
OppositionSubmit links to editor@ballotpedia.org. |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Missouri Secretary of State, "Initiative #51," accessed August 31, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Missouri Secretary of State, "List of Petitions," accessed August 31, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedText - ↑ Better Elections, "Homepage," accessed May 7, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Missouri Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Searches," accessed on April 18, 2022
- ↑ A 60% supermajority vote was needed to pass the amendment.
- ↑ League of Women Voters of Maine, "Citizen Referendum on Ranked Choice Voting," accessed November 13, 2014
- ↑ St. Louis Today, "Ashcroft sued by group pushing for ranked choice voting in Missouri," January 27, 2022
- ↑ Fulton Sun, "Supporters of ‘ranked-choice’ elections confident in Missouri initiative," March 15, 2022
- ↑ Missouri Independent, "Legal marijuana, ranked-choice voting initiatives submitted for Missouri ballot," May 9, 2022
- ↑ Missouri Independent, "Fate of Missouri marijuana initiative petition unclear as signature count continues," July 18, 2022
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "Constitutional Amendment to Article VIII, Relating to Elections for State and Federal Officials," August 9, 2022
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