Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 1, file 2020-072)?
Plain-English summary
Mary Anne Sedey filed a 12-version slate of voting-access initiative petitions in mid-July 2019, numbered 2020-072 through 2020-083. Petition 2020-072 is version 1 of that slate. Versions 1-2 (this one and 2020-073) sit in the 16+ pre-registration / with-Corrections cell. Versions 3-4 share the same package without Corrections; versions 5-6 mirror v1-v2; versions 7-10 use adults-only with Corrections; versions 11-12 use adults-only without Corrections. Twelve drafts let proponents pick whichever survives summary-statement litigation challenges.
After the Secretary of State drafted the ballot summary, the AG reviewed it under § 116.334 RSMo and approved its legal content and form. The AG's role is narrow: a legal-form check on the ballot summary. It is not a policy endorsement.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
The exact ballot summary the AG approved
Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
- establish automatic voter registration of individuals at least 16 years old from state agency lists (including the departments of revenue, social services, corrections and conservation);
- allow voters on election day to appear at the wrong polling place, vote on a wrong ballot, and have election judges later transfer the votes to the right ballot;
- allow voters to sign up to permanently vote by mail, with voting by mail allowed during the six weeks before each election; and
- make voters' method of voting a public record (mail, in person or military)?
Common questions
Q: Why pre-register 16-year-olds rather than wait until 18?
A: Pre-registration captures young people through high-school touchpoints with state agencies (driver licensing, social services), then enters them on the rolls automatically when they turn 18. About a dozen states allow some form of teen pre-registration.
Q: Why include Corrections among registration sources?
A: It would automatically enroll people coming through the corrections system to vote, subject to Missouri's existing felony-disenfranchisement rules in § 115.133 RSMo.
Q: How does this version compare to other Sedey 2019 waves?
A: This July slate (2020-072 to 2020-083) was the first set Sedey filed. A second July slate (2020-088, 2020-089) followed; an August slate (2020-097, 2020-098) added more variants; the September slate (2020-105 through 2020-112) finalized an eight-version policy permutation. None of the petitions appears to have advanced to the 2020 ballot.
Q: Did the petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. None of Sedey's 2019 petition versions appears to have advanced to the 2020 ballot.
Q: Who can challenge the summary statement?
A: § 116.190 RSMo lets any registered voter challenge the official ballot summary as "insufficient or unfair" by filing suit in Cole County circuit court within ten days of certification.
Background and statutory framework
Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline:
- Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
- AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
- State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo.
- Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo (this opinion).
- Petition certified for circulation.
Citations and references
Statutes: § 116.334 RSMo (the operative provision); § 116.190 RSMo (judicial challenges); § 116.175 RSMo (fiscal-note pipeline); § 116.332 RSMo (sufficiency-as-to-form); § 115.133 RSMo (felony disenfranchisement).
Sister Sedey July 2019 (2020-072 to 2020-083) twelve-version slate: 145-2019 (v2), 146-2019 (v3), 147-2019 (v4), 148-2019 (v5), 149-2019 (v6), 150-2019 (v7), 151-2019 (v8), 152-2019 (v9), 153-2019 (v10), 154-2019 (v11), 155-2019 (v12).
Sister Sedey September 2019 (2020-105 through 2020-112) wave (eight versions): form-review opinions 169-176; fiscal-note opinions 183-190; summary-statement opinions 195-202.
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/144-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
July 29, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 144-2019
The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Secretary Ashcroft:
This opinion letter responds to your request dated July 19, 2019, for our review under
§ 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Mary Anne
Sedey regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to amend Article VIII of the Missouri
Constitution, version 1 (2020-072). The proposed summary statement is as follows:
Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
• establish automatic voter registration of individuals at least 16 years
old from state agency lists (including the departments of revenue, social
services, corrections and conservation);
• allow voters on election day to appear at the wrong polling place, vote
on a wrong ballot, and have election judges later transfer the votes to
the right ballot;
• allow voters to sign up to permanently vote by mail, with voting by
mail allowed during the six weeks before each election; and
• make voters' method of voting a public record (mail, in person or military)?
Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed
statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with
respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of
any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.
Very truly yours,
ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov
OP-2019-0169