Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for the Sedey AVR / no-excuse absentee initiative version 2 (2020-130), which added weekend-before-election in-person absentee voting?
Subject
The Missouri AG's review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement for an initiative petition (version 2, 2020-130) submitted by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution, establishing automatic voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting, and weekend-before-election in-person absentee voting.
Topics: INITIATIVES. INITIATIVE PETITIONS.
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.
Plain-English summary
This is one of five companion AG reviews issued December 17, 2019, for variations of Mary Anne Sedey's automatic voter registration / absentee initiative. Version 2 (designated 2020-130) added one feature on top of version 1: in-person absentee voting on the weekend before an election.
The proposed summary statement that AG Schmitt approved said:
Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
- establish automatic voter registration from lists of eligible adults from the department of revenue based on driver and nondriver license transactions;
- change current absentee voting by prohibiting a voter from having to state a reason for being prevented from going to the polls to vote on election day; and
- allow in-person absentee voting the weekend before an election?
The weekend-in-person provision is the key difference from version 1. Version 3 (270-2019) preserves this provision and adds Secretary-of-State authority to designate additional state agencies as AVR data sources. Version 4 (271-2019) drops the weekend provision but keeps the SoS-designation feature. Version 5 (272-2019) returns to a basic AVR-plus-absentee-only package.
The AG approved legal content and form. He explicitly noted the approval is not an endorsement of the petition.
Common questions
Q: What does "in-person absentee voting the weekend before an election" mean?
It is essentially early voting: voters could cast in-person ballots through the absentee process at a designated location on the Saturday and Sunday before Election Day. Most states have some form of early voting; Missouri did not have one in 2019.
Q: Are weekend in-person absentee voting and "early voting" the same thing?
Functionally similar but legally distinct. Some states call it early voting; others tag it onto the absentee statute (which is what the Sedey version 2 proposed). The label affects which statutory provisions apply (postmark rules, ballot security, etc.).
Q: Did Missouri eventually adopt early voting?
The opinion does not say. Missouri's actual voting law has changed since 2019; current law should be checked separately.
Background and statutory framework
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 governs the AG's review of summary statements. Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution governs elections. The Sedey AVR series of late 2019 included multiple variations on automatic registration, absentee voting, and early voting structures.
Citations
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 (AG summary statement review)
- Mo. Const. art. VIII (elections)
- Companion summary-statement reviews: 268-2019 (version 1), 270-2019 (version 3), 271-2019 (version 4), 272-2019 (version 5)
- Companion fiscal-note reviews: 262-2019 (version 11), 263-2019 (version 12)
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/269-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
Eric SCHMITT
December 17, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 269-2019
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 December 5, 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 2 (2020-130). The proposed summary statement is as follows:
- Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to:
e establish automatic voter registration from lists
of eligible adults from the department of revenue
based on .driver and _ nondriver license
transactions;
e change current absentee voting by prohibiting a
voter from having to state a reason for being
prevented from going to the polls to vote on
election day; and
e allow in-person absentee voting the weekend
before an election?
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.
Supreme Conrt Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
WWW.ag0.mo.poV
OP-2019-0303
The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Page 2
Very truly yours,
ef food
ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General
OP-2019-0303