Petition to stop MO lawmakers from making it harder to amend constitution can move forward

After being sued for illegally blocking a proposed citizen-driven ballot question that would prevent lawmakers from making it harder for voters to amend the state constitution, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has allowed the proposal to move forward.

Columbia resident Harry Cooper in Cole County dropped his lawsuit against Ashcroft, a candidate for governor in 2024, last month after Ashcroft relented and allowed Cooper to begin gathering signatures to put his proposal on the 2024 ballot.

“Our team is ready to make our state more accountable to the people,” Cooper said in a statement Wednesday. Cooper, through a group called Respect for Voters, announced Wednesday the group was in the process of collecting signatures.

Ashcroft’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Cooper’s ballot question is in response to Missouri Republican lawmakers proposing a flurry of proposals this year that would make it harder for voters across the state to approve amendments to the state constitution.

If certified for the ballot, Cooper’s plan would ask voters in 2024 to approve a measure preventing state lawmakers from passing laws that make it harder for citizens to amend the state’s initiative petition process. It also would prevent lawmakers from changing voter-approved laws for seven years unless receiving 75% approval from both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly.

And it would allow lawmakers to serve 16 years in either chamber instead of the current eight year per chamber cap.

The ballot measure would have reduced the legislative term limit to 12 years if lawmakers pass any laws that restrict the public’s ability to amend the state constitution.

Wednesday’s announcement comes less than a week after the Missouri Senate approved a constitutional amendment that would increase the number of votes required for a citizen-driven amendment to pass on the ballot.

The legislation, which is headed for negotiations between both chambers, is part of an onslaught of GOP-led bills filed this year that would raise the threshold for voters to amend the constitution. It comes as Missouri voters have approved several liberal-leaning policies through changes to the constitution.

The lawsuit filed by Cooper in March accused Ashcroft of initially approving his proposal and then reversing course and rejecting it after a 15-day deadline, in violation of state law.

It further alleged that Ashcroft had rejected “a number of” other ballot initiatives this year through a similar process.