Voter Protection Alliance

Respect the Will of the People!

Support the Your Vote Counts Act!

The Your Vote Counts Act is a proposed citizen-backed initiative seeking to qualify for the November 2012 statewide ballot, in order to help protect the integrity of the ballot initiative process and provide greater protections for voter-approved initiatives. The constitutional measure would require a three-fourths vote in both the House and the Senate, or a vote of the people by referendum, in order for the legislature to repeal or amend any voter-approved initiative.

Elected Officials Should Respect the Will of the People: Subverting the judgment of voters is not right, and it is anti-democratic. Our system is built on majority rule, and it is wrong of lawmakers to usurp the power of the people and ignore their expressed will. Sadly, the Missouri legislature has become more and more hostile to the initiative process and is working to amend or overturn initiatives that have been adopted by the voters. It has become far too easy for a handful of career politicians in Jefferson City to substitute their judgment for the wisdom of Missouri citizens. Elected officials should be accountable to the voters, not the other way around. Voters must demand to be heard, and this assault on the will of the people must be stopped.

A Problem in Missouri: According to constitutional law experts, the Missouri legislature overturns voter initiatives more frequently than almost any other state with the initiative process.  Gregory Magarian, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on constitutional law, noted that “Missouri appears to be a national leader in overturning voter initiatives.” The state legislature in 2003 passed a concealed handgun law even though the voters previously rejected it when the legislature placed it on the ballot, and in 2009 undid a school funding measure that passed as part of a casino initiative.  They have already repealed most elements of a puppy mill law approved by voters in 2010, and are looking to dismantle a 2006 ballot measure on minimum wage and a 2008 ballot measure on clean energy. If politicians can defy the will of the voters on these issues, then what other issues will be next?

A Reasonable and Moderate Reform: The Your Vote Counts Act would provide constitutional protections for citizen ballot initiatives similar to those that exist in other states. The measure still allows the state legislature to exercise its legislative authority, and if there are major problems with an initiative they will be able to build consensus for a three-fourths vote. The legislature could still “fix” a ballot initiative but would need bipartisan support, and could not just act on the whims of whichever political party happens to be in power at the time. If a majority of lawmakers agreed with a given initiative reform, they would have passed the law themselves, so by definition, a majority of legislators are going to disagree with just about any initiative advanced by citizens. The Your Vote Counts Act adds a layer of accountability and a higher threshold so the will of the people cannot be simply discarded with a narrow vote of the legislature.

An Achievable Threshold: Critics of the Your Vote Counts Act argue that three-fourths is an impossibly high threshold and the legislature will never be able to meet that standard; however, it is quite common. In fact, of the 152 bills that received final approval in the 2011 legislative session, 139 of them (91.4%) received a three-fourths or greater vote in the House, and 145 bills (95.4%) received a three-fourths or greater vote in the Senate. When the legislators build consensus and bipartisan support for necessary policy changes, they have very little difficulty in meeting the three-fourths threshold, and only the most controversial bills pass with a narrow majority. Additionally, three-fourths is the same threshold needed, for example, for the legislature to usurp the power of the governor’s office to call a special election, and it only makes sense that such a threshold would be needed for the legislature to usurp the power of the voters.

Consistent with Laws in Other States: Missouri is one of only ten states that allow the state legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute at any time after its adoption by a simple majority of both houses. A number of other states—including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming—provide greater protections to voter-approved initiatives, such as requiring either a time period to elapse or a supermajority vote in order for the legislature to amend the measure.

Helping to Simplify the Initiative Process and Make it More Usable: Some citizens and groups are now inclined to use constitutional amendments to advance their policy goals, because they want the measure to be protected from political tampering. If there are greater protections for statutory ballot initiatives, it will encourage advocacy groups to use statutory initiatives rather than constitutional amendments, and it will keep policy issues where they belong rather than cluttering up the state constitution.

A History of Investing Power in the People: According to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California, Missouri citizens have had the right to petition their government through the ballot initiative process since 1907, and it has been used sparingly over the last century. The initiative provides an additional check on the legislature and vests power in the citizens of the state when their elected officials fail to represent their interests.  According to the Institute, Missouri’s most notable initiative was probably the 1940 constitutional amendment to establish a nonpartisan system for the nomination, appointment, and retention elections of judges. This was copied by several states and is now known as the “Missouri Plan” for judicial selection. The first initiative to pass was a 1920 statute requiring that a new state constitution be drawn up. The next was a 1924 measure to provide funding for the maintenance and construction of the state’s highways, followed in 1928 by a $75 million bond issue for further construction. Also approved in 1924 was an initiative to allow voters in the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County to consolidate their local governments. In the 1930s, Missouri voters enacted initiatives to allow public employee benefits and to create a Conservation Commission to manage fish, game, and forest resources. In 1980, the voters adopted the “Hancock Amendment” which limited state and local taxes. In 1992 a term limits initiative was adopted and in 1994 campaign finance reform and riverboat gambling initiatives were approved by the voters.

Broad Support from Across the Political Spectrum: Your Vote Counts is a broad coalition of groups from the left to the right who are concerned about protecting the will of the people and the integrity of the ballot initiative process, including Citizens in Charge, Americans for Tax Reform, The Humane Society of the United States, National Taxpayers Union, ASPCA, U.S. Term Limits, Best Friends Animal Society, Stop Child Predators, and Americans for Limited Government.  -