Missouri Senate prepared to OK change in courts' handling of ballot issue cases

The Missouri Senate could vote today on a bill requiring the courts to speed up work on challenges to ballot issues.

If the senators give final approval to the measure, which they debated Tuesday, it would go to the House.

If the House and Senate agree on the same language and Gov. Jay Nixon signs the bill into law, its biggest impact would be on the three circuit judges of the Jefferson City-based Cole County circuit court.

Sponsor Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit - and an announced candidate for secretary of state in the 2016 elections - told colleagues he proposed the bill after looking into county clerks' election problems.

"This bill fixes the problem we had last year, where the courts came out and added some words on an initiative petition, and cost the state $700,000" to print new ballots, Kraus explained. "Over the summer, I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of county clerks, and we came up with a potential fix, which I filed - and this is the fix.

"We would cut off the deadline at eight weeks out."

Last year, the Legislature during the last week of the session passed House Joint Resolution 90, placing an "early voting" constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4, 2014, general election ballot.

As allowed by state law, the Legislature also wrote the ballot language - which Secretary of State Jason Kander's office certified on June 30.

Norman Seay sued on July 2, challenging the ballot title, and amended the suit on July 16.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem heard arguments on Aug. 19 and issued his ruling Aug. 25, upholding the Legislature's language.

Seay appealed to the Western District appeals court in Kansas City the same day. It heard oral arguments in the case on Sept. 12, and ruled Sept. 15 - seven weeks before election day - that the Legislature's ballot language was not sufficient, ordering county clerks across the state to add one sentence to the ballot title.

Reprinting the ballots cost a total of $705,000 statewide.

The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the current state law prohibiting judges from ordering ballot changes less than six weeks from an election.

But Kraus' bill would add two weeks to that limit.

"It would give the clerks (an extra) two weeks to print those ballots before they have to mail out the military absentee ballots," he explained. "I think this is a reasonable approach to try and save taxpayer dollars so that we can use them in other areas of state government."

Freshman Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, challenged Kraus' plan for ballot measures placed on the August ballot.

"If a governor chooses to hold an election in August, there's a time frame that revolves around your 56 days, your eight weeks, that makes it impossible, virtually, for someone who might want to challenge that ballot language," she told Kraus Tuesday.

In 2016, she argued, if lawmakers passed a proposed amendment on the last day of the session, Kraus' bill would require all court rulings to be done by June 7.

"That would allow, at most, 23 days to dispose of the lawsuit and all of the appeals that might occur around that ballot language," she argued.

The Constitution allows the governor to set special elections on statewide issues - last year, he placed five issues on the August primary ballot.

Kraus said: "I would encourage the governer not to put us in that box.

"I mean, if there's going to be a situation where there's going to be potential challenges, why doesn't the governor just put it on the November ballot, where it's supposed to most likely be the best scenario?"

The Senate defeated, by a voice vote, an amendment that would have authorized Kraus' language only for November elections.

Following its normal practice, Attorney General Chris Koster's office declined to comment on the proposal.

Former Cole County Presiding Commissioner Marc Ellinger, an attorney who's been active in some ballot issues in the past, agreed with Schupp.

"When the following facts occur, it could nearly eliminate pre-election ballot title review," Ellinger told the News Tribune. "1) The General Assembly passed a Joint Resolution without a ballot title in the last few days of session, and 2) the Joint Resolution is not sent to the secretary of state until after the end of the session. And 3) The Governor puts a joint resolution on the August Ballot."