Missouri Supreme Court orders new election on KCPD funding, ruling voters were misled

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday tossed the results of a 2022 vote in which Missourians overwhelmingly approved a measure forcing Kansas City to pay more for its police.

The extraordinary decision found that Missouri voters were misled by statewide officials when they approved the measure, called Amendment 4. It calls for a new election to be held in November.

Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote in the opinion that the financial estimates on the ballot question that voters saw in 2022 failed to “concisely and accurately advise voters” of its impact on Kansas City.

“Worse, the fiscal note summary actually misled voters by suggesting Amendment No. 4 would have no fiscal impact when the fiscal note identified a sizeable one,” Wilson wrote.

Tuesday’s decision to toss the results of an election is unprecedented and marks a major victory for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sued over the ballot question last year.

The amendment that is now void required Kansas City to increase the amount of general revenue it spends on its police department from 20% to 25%. More than 63% of Missouri voters approved the measure in November 2022.

The crux of Tuesday’s decision focused on the fiscal note that voters saw on the ballot, which said that “local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related to this proposal.” The court found that this was misleading.

The state’s highest court ruled that because this financial information was the last thing that voters read before voting, it cast doubt on the results of the election. Wilson was joined by three other judges in his decision. Judges Ginger K. Gooch and Robin Ransom each dissented in two separate opinions.

Lucas, in his lawsuit against the results, argued that before the election, Kansas City officials had informed then-Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat who did not run for re-election, and Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is running for governor, that the ballot measure would cost the city more than $38.7 million and force the city to cut spending on other services.

Despite repeated requests from the city, the ballot measure that was placed in front of voters — and overwhelmingly approved — stated that the city did not estimate any additional costs.

Ashcroft and Republican Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who was named as a defendant in the case after succeeding Galloway as auditor, argued in previous court filings that Lucas was using city resources to contest a policy he opposed and lacked legal standing to bring the challenge as a private Missouri voter.

While viewed as a victory for Kansas City, Tuesday’s decision could also serve as a major ruling for statewide officials’ involvement in future ballot questions ahead of possible major statewide votes this year, including on abortion rights and sports betting.

“This is an extremely important decision for the integrity of the ballot process,” said Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City-based attorney who previously worked in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. “Officials involved in the process — the Secretary of State and the Auditor — should take note that they must do their jobs fairly or the court will intervene, as it should.”

Lora McDonald, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2, said she believes the Supreme Court made the right decision.

“The whole question itself was misleading to Missouri voters,” she said. “I hope this gives us the opportunity to reduce the amount allocated to police.”

However, McDonald said she continued to disagree with Lucas’ decision to “unilaterally” file the lawsuit.

Last August, McDonald filed a lawsuit after seeking communications between Lucas and the city attorney about the funding lawsuit.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said state statute “provides a citizen may challenge the ballot title or the fiscal note.”

At last week’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, the members approved a $318 million police department budget for the next fiscal year. The department’s previous budget was $284 million. Much of the increase will go towards salary raises with officers starting at $65,000.