Ezel / AG Opinions / MO
MO Opinion No. 147-2019 2019-07-31

Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 4, file 2020-075)?

Short answer: Yes, as to legal content and form (re-issued July 31 to fix a typographical error). AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Sedey's petition 2020-075 (version 4). The petition would establish automatic voter registration of 16+ year olds from state agency lists (revenue, social services, conservation; no Corrections), allow ballot transfer at the wrong polling place, permanent vote-by-mail, and voting-method public records. Same package as version 3 with drafting variations.
Currency note: this opinion is from 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.
Disclaimer: This is an official Missouri Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Missouri attorney for advice on your specific situation.

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 2020-075 is version 4. Versions 3 and 4 are the 16+ pre-registration / no Corrections cell of the policy grid; the ballot summaries are identical, the underlying constitutional drafting differs.

The original opinion letter was sent July 29, 2019. AG Schmitt re-issued it on July 31 to correct a typographical error; the re-issued letter (this one) supersedes the original. 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 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: How does version 4 differ from version 3?
A: The ballot summaries are identical. The two versions differ only in the underlying constitutional text (drafting variants of how the same policy is implemented in Article VIII). Filing parallel drafts lets the proponent select whichever survives summary-statement litigation challenges.

Q: What does this version commit to on Corrections?
A: Versions 3 and 4 (this one) do not include the Department of Corrections among automatic-registration sources. Versions 5 and 6 add Corrections; the proponent was exploring whether Corrections inclusion was a help or a liability for the petition's appeal.

Q: What is "ballot transfer" at the wrong polling place?
A: A voter who shows up at the wrong precinct today often votes a provisional ballot that may not count for races outside that precinct. The petition would have election judges later route the cast votes to the correct ballot, so all of the voter's choices count.

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:

  1. Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
  2. AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
  3. State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo.
  4. Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo (this opinion).
  5. 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).

Sister Sedey July 2019 (2020-072 to 2020-083) twelve-version slate: 146-2019 (v3), 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 later July 2019 (2020-088, 2020-089) wave: 156-2019, 157-2019.

Sister Sedey August 2019 (2020-097, 2020-098) wave: 162-2019, 163-2019.

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

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT

July 31, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 147-2019 (revised)

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:

On July 29, 2019 we sent you a response 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 4 (2020-075). Due to a typographical error we are reissuing our response. This response supersedes the previous opinion letter. 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 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-2019-0172