Missouri Proposition 17, Congressional Redistricting Referendum (1922)

Missouri Proposition 17
Election date November 7, 1922
Topic Redistricting policy
Status Defeated
Type Veto referendum	Origin Citizens

Missouri Proposition 17 was on the ballot as a veto referendum in Missouri on November 7, 1922. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported the referendum, thus upholding the congressional redistricting plan.

A "no" vote opposed the referendum, thus repealing the congressional redistricting plan.

Election results

Missouri Proposition 17
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		240,340	38.34%
No		386,522	61.66%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Known as the Elmer Congressional Redistricting Bill, the plan made "12 of the districts safely Republican," according to The Kansas City Post. The state had 16 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922.

The Missouri Democratic Committee issued a statement: "The congressional redistricting bill, which we are herewith submitting to the referendum, we consider extremely unfair and partisan in the extreme. It puts many of the strong Democratic counties. In as few districts as possible and insures the election of at least 10 Republicans out of the 16 congressmen from Missouri for the next 10 years. Is that fair; is that nonpartisan?"

On October 15, 1922, The St. Louis Star and Times wrote, "The congressional redistricting bill is the name of this act. At the time of its passage it was asserted that it would insure the election of nine Republican and four Democratic congressmen from Missouri, leaving three districts doubtful. The Republicans assert that the congressional districts as at present arranged give the Democrats normally 9 or 10 congressmen and the Republicans 6 or 7, although 14 of Missouri’s 16 congressmen today are Republicans, having been swept into power by the Republican landslide of 1920."

On November 2, 1922, the St. Joseph News-Press wrote, "There is also the question of compact districts as against gerrymandered districts. Republicans have always complained that the present arrangement is a gerrymander in the Democratic interest, just as Democrats now complain that the proposed scheme is a gerrymander in the Republican interest."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 17 was as follows:

“

PROPOSITION NUMBER 17 REFERENDUM ORDERED BY THE PETITION OF THE PEOPLE. An Act dividing the State of Missouri into sixteen congressional districts. Senate Bill No. 4, Fifty-first General Assembly.

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Missouri

A veto referendum is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal an enacted law. This type of ballot measure is also called statute referendum, popular referendum, people's veto, or citizen's veto. There are 23 states that allow citizens to initiate veto referendums.

In Missouri, the number of signatures required for a veto referendum is based on the number of votes cast for governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. In two-thirds of Missouri's congressional districts, proponents must collect signatures equal to 5% of the gubernatorial vote for veto referendums. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

See also

1922 Measures

• 1922 Measures
• Redistricting policy on the ballot
• 1922 legislative sessions

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

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

External links

• Missouri State Archives - The Blue Book
• Franklin County Tribune: November 3, 1922