Ezel / AG Opinions / MO
MO Opinion No. 276-2019 2019-12-17

Did the Missouri AG approve the summary statement for the Sedey AVR-only initiative version 9 (2020-137) under § 116.334?

Short answer: Yes. The AG approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334. The approval is procedural, not an endorsement of the initiative.
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 AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent.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.

Subject

The Missouri AG's review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared by the Secretary of State for an initiative petition (version 9, 2020-137) submitted by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Version 9 was the AVR-only variant, addressing automatic voter registration through Department of Revenue driver and nondriver license records, without the absentee-voting changes that appeared in versions 5, 6, and 7.

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 the fourth in a set of five companion opinions (272-, 273-, 274-, 276-, 277-2019) issued by Attorney General Eric Schmitt on December 17, 2019, reviewing summary statements for variations of the Sedey AVR initiative.

Version 9 stripped the proposal back to its core: a single-question constitutional amendment establishing automatic voter registration drawn from Department of Revenue driver and nondriver license transactions. The Secretary of State's summary statement asked voters whether they wanted 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."

The AG approved the summary statement under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 and reiterated the standard caveat: the approval is mandated by statute and should not be read as an endorsement of the petition or its objectives.

Common questions

Q: Why were there narrower versions in the series?

Initiative drafters sometimes file variants of the same idea so they can later choose which version to circulate, depending on legal review feedback, polling, or coalition concerns. Versions 5, 6, and 7 of the Sedey initiative bundled AVR with no-excuse absentee voting (and, in versions 6 and 7, with weekend in-person absentee voting). Versions 9 and 10 isolated the AVR component.

Q: How did version 9 differ from version 10?

The two summary statements as approved by the AG read essentially the same. Comparing the underlying petitions would identify any version-to-version textual differences.

Q: What is § 116.334 review?

Missouri's procedure for AG review of the Secretary of State's summary statement for proposed initiatives. The summary appears on petitions and on the ballot. The AG reviews legal content and form, not policy.

Background and statutory framework

See companion Op. 272-2019 for the broader framework on § 116.334 review and the Sedey initiative series.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334. Requires AG review of the Secretary of State's summary statement for legal content and form.

Mo. Const. art. VIII. Governs Missouri elections, including voter registration.

Citations

  • Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334 (AG summary statement review)
  • Mo. Const. art. VIII (elections)
  • Companion opinions: 272-2019, 273-2019, 274-2019, 277-2019

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

December 17, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 276-2019
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 9 (2020-137). 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?

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-2019-0310