What does the Missouri AG's form-only approval of an initiative petition mean, and what does it not cover?
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This page answers the general question as of 2019. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Missouri law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
AG Eric Schmitt approved the form of Version 7 (state-assigned number 2020-078) of an initiative petition by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII (suffrage and elections) of the Missouri Constitution. This was one of five form-review letters issued the same day (100-2019 through 104-2019) for versions 6 through 10 of the same underlying campaign.
The legal mechanism is § 116.332 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. When the Secretary of State receives an initiative petition, the statute requires him to ask the AG to review it for "sufficiency as to form." Form review checks the procedural and structural aspects of the filing: required statements, formatting, proper attachment of the proposed constitutional language, and so on. It is not a review of substantive content, constitutionality, drafting quality, or policy.
The opinion letter expressly disclaims any broader meaning. Section 116.332 reserves to the Secretary of State the final authority to approve or reject the petition; the AG's form approval is permissive but not binding on the Secretary's separate sufficiency call. "Sufficiency as to form" is not "sufficiency as to substance," so a form-approved petition can still fail substantive review, ballot title challenges, or the constitutional requirements for amendment. And because the AG's review is statutorily required, no action the AG takes should be read as endorsing the petition or its objectives or as expressing any view on its adequacy.
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.
Common questions
Q: Why does the same proponent file ten different versions?
A: Initiative proponents in Missouri commonly draft variations of a single proposal and submit them in parallel. Each version goes through its own AG form review, ballot title preparation, and Secretary of State certification. Proponents then circulate the version that best survives the early reviews.
Q: What is Article VIII about?
A: Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution governs suffrage and elections, qualifications of voters, registration, election procedures, and related rights. The specific substantive content of Sedey's Version 7 is in the petition itself, filed with the Secretary of State.
Q: Can a member of the public read the petition's actual text?
A: Yes. The petition is filed with the Missouri Secretary of State and is a public record. Searching by the state-assigned petition number (here, 2020-078) on the Secretary of State's website locates the underlying text.
Q: How is the ballot title written?
A: Section 116.334 gives the Secretary of State and the AG joint responsibility. The ballot title is what voters see on the ballot if the petition qualifies. Ballot titles are commonly litigated as misleading, and a court can rewrite them.
Background and statutory framework
Chapter 116 of the Missouri Revised Statutes (§§ 116.010 through 116.420) is the comprehensive initiative and referendum statute. Section 116.332 is the form-review provision. Article III, § 50 of the Missouri Constitution grants the people the initiative power for both statutes and constitutional amendments. Article XII, § 2(b) sets the signature threshold for constitutional amendments (8% of legal voters from each of two-thirds of the state's congressional districts, in the case of a constitutional amendment).
The Sedey petition cluster reflects practical drafting strategy. Filing multiple versions hedges against the risk that a single drafting choice will sink the petition. Each version's form approval (100-2019 through 104-2019) is independent.
Citations
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.332 (initiative petition form review)
- Mo. Const. art. III, § 50 (initiative power)
- Mo. Const. art. VIII (suffrage and elections, target of the amendment)
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/101-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
June 27, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 101-2019
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 June 17, 2019, for our review under § 116.332, RSMo, of the sufficiency as to form of an initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution submitted by Mary Anne Sedey, Version 7 (2020-078).
We approve the petition as to form, but § 116.332 gives the Secretary of State final authority to approve or reject the petition. Therefore, our approval of the form of the petition does not preclude you from rejecting the petition.
Because our review of the petition is simply for the purpose of determining sufficiency as to form, the fact that we do not reject the petition is not to be construed as a determination that the petition is sufficient as to substance. Likewise, because our review is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition or of the objectives of its proponents, or the expression of any view respecting the adequacy or inadequacy of the petition generally.
ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General
OP-2019-0118
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