What does the Missouri AG's procedural form approval mean for the last of a multi-version initiative petition campaign?

Plain-English summary

AG Eric Schmitt approved the form of Version 10 (state-assigned number 2020-081) of an initiative petition by Mary Anne Sedey to amend Article VIII (suffrage and elections) of the Missouri Constitution. This is the tenth and final version in the cluster the AG processed on June 27, 2019. Opinion Letters 100-2019 through 104-2019 together cover versions 6 through 10.

Section 116.332 of the Missouri Revised Statutes is the AG's hook. When the Secretary of State receives a proposed initiative petition, the statute requires AG form review. The check is narrow: formatting, required statements, attachment of the proposed constitutional language, and similar structural elements. Substance, drafting quality, constitutionality, and policy stay outside the scope.

The letter's three boilerplate disclaimers are the same as in the other four letters in the cluster. Final approve-or-reject authority over the petition rests with the Secretary of State. Form approval is not substance approval. The AG's statutorily-mandated review is not an endorsement of the petition's objectives.

For Mary Anne Sedey, having form approval on all ten filed versions gave maximum flexibility going into the substantive-review and signature-gathering phases. If a substantive challenge took down one version, others remained alive. If a ballot-title challenge required redrafting, alternate versions provided fallbacks. Proponents commonly do this; the AG's role processes each version independently regardless of how related they are to each other.

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: Were all ten versions of Sedey's petition similar in policy direction?
A: The AG letters do not say. Each version is identified only by its number; the substantive text lives in the petition itself on file with the Secretary of State.

Q: What if a court strikes down the AG's form approval?
A: Form-review decisions are rarely the basis for litigation; substantive challenges usually target the ballot title or the petition's constitutional sufficiency. Courts have, however, occasionally examined form-review compliance.

Q: Why is each opinion letter so short?
A: Form review under § 116.332 has a fixed structure: identify the version, state whether the form is sufficient, state the standard disclaimers. The letter is concise because the legal scope is narrow.

Q: Could a single proponent file two unrelated petitions on the same day?
A: Yes. The AG would review each independently. The cluster here happens to be ten versions of the same underlying proposal, but the procedural mechanic is the same as for any single-version filing.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 116 of the Missouri Revised Statutes (§§ 116.010 to 116.420) is the initiative-and-referendum framework. Section 116.332 is the AG form-review section. Article III, § 50 of the Missouri Constitution gives the people the initiative power. Article XII, § 2(b) sets the signature threshold (8% of legal voters in two-thirds of the state's congressional districts, for constitutional amendments).

The Missouri AG processes hundreds of these form-review letters per election cycle. The standardized language is intentional: the AG's role is narrow, the disclaimers protect against later misuse, and consistency across letters makes the form-review process predictable for proponents and the Secretary of State.

Citations

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.332 (AG form review of initiative petitions)
• Mo. Const. art. III, § 50 (initiative power)
• Mo. Const. art. VIII (suffrage and elections)
• Mo. Const. art. XII, § 2(b) (signature threshold)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/104-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT

June 27, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 104-2019

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 10 (2020-081).

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