Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Mary Anne Sedey's voter registration initiative version 2020-136?

Subject

The Missouri AG's review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement that the Secretary of State prepared for an initiative petition submitted by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution, version 8 (2020-136), addressing automatic voter registration and 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

When a Missouri initiative petition is circulated for signatures, the petition carries a short summary statement describing what the measure would do. The Secretary of State drafts that statement, and under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 the Attorney General reviews it for legal content and form.

This letter is AG Eric Schmitt's approval of the summary statement for version 8 of an initiative petition submitted by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution (designated 2020-136). The summary statement that the AG approved read:

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, and from certain other state agencies if designated by the secretary of state; and
• 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?

This version draws registration lists from the Department of Revenue and other designated agencies and keeps the absentee-reason change, but, unlike version 7, leaves out weekend in-person absentee voting. The AG noted the standard caveat: the approval is mandated by statute and is not an endorsement of the petition or its objectives.

Common questions

Q: How does version 8 differ from the other Sedey versions?

Version 8 includes the broadened registration sourcing (Department of Revenue plus other designated agencies) and the absentee-reason change, but not the weekend in-person absentee voting that appears in versions 6 and 7.

Q: What would automatic voter registration have done under this proposal?

Eligible adults would have been registered to vote automatically using driver and nondriver license records from the Department of Revenue and other state agencies the Secretary of State designated.

Q: Did approving this summary mean the AG supported the measure?

No. The AG is required to review summary statements regardless of subject. The letter states that the approval should not "be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents."

Background and statutory framework

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 directs the Secretary of State to prepare a summary statement for a proposed initiative petition and the Attorney General to review it for legal content and form. The approved summary appears on the petition used for signature gathering and, if the measure qualifies, on the ballot.

Citations

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 (AG review of the Secretary of State's summary statement)
• Companion summary-statement reviews: 268-2019 through 278-2019 (Sedey, Article VIII, versions 1 through 11)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/275-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

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
December 18, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 275-2019
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 8 (2020-136). The proposed summary statement is as follows:

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, and from certain other state agencies if designated by the secretary of state; and
• 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?

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-2019-0309