2004 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri

2004-013 RE: Electoral Reform -- Version 2

Submitted by:

Mr. Brad Ketcher The Ketcher Law Firm, LLC

Contact Lois Ernst at 816-545-4891 (PO Box 32031, Kansas City, MO 64114) or the Ketcher Law Firm, LLC at www.ketcher.com for further information.

Petition sample form approved for circulation on March 5, 2004. Official ballot title certified by Secretary of State on March 22, 2004.

OFFICIAL BALLOT TITLE AS CERTIFIED BY SECRETARY OF STATE

Shall Missouri law be amended to eliminate the present winner-take-all method of choosing electors for president and vice president and instead require that electors be chosen as follows: two at-large electors allocated to the party or person that wins the statewide vote and the remaining electors elected by congressional district, the highest vote getter in each district to be that district's elector, with this provision to take effect November 2, 2004?

The proposed statutory change would have a zero estimated fiscal impact to the state and local governments.

 

THE PROPOSED ACT

Be it enacted by the people of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Sections 128.070 and 128.080, RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 128.070, and 128.080, to read as follows:

Section 1. Title. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Make Your Vote For President Count Act of 2004."

Section 2. Legislative declaration. The People of the State of Missouri hereby find and declare that:

1. The United States Constitution delegates to each state the method of choosing presidential electors who are charged with casting votes in the electoral college for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States;

2. The Missouri Constitution reserves to the People of this state the right to propose and enact laws independent of the general assembly, and the system for allocating presidential electors is an appropriate subject for a citizen initiative;

3. The right to vote for President of the United States is a fundamental right and each person's vote is entitled to equal dignity and should, to the extent possible, count equally;

4. The present "winner-take-all" method of awarding presidential electors in Missouri dates from the 1800's and often results in nearly half of Missouri voters not having their voices heard in national elections;

5. The will of the Missouri electorate can be better reflected by the district-by-district allocation of electoral college representatives; and

6. By approving this Act, the People of Missouri, using their legislative power under Article III, Section 49 of the Missouri Constitution, do hereby act as the legislature of Missouri for the purpose of changing the manner of electing presidential electors in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.

Section 3. Effective date. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this act shall be effective from and after November 2, 2004 and shall be used to allocate the presidential electors of this state beginning with the election of November 2, 2004 and every election thereafter at which ballots for President and Vice President of the United States are cast.

Section 4. Severability. If any provision of this act, or part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall not be affected, but shall remain in full force and effect, and to this end the provisions of the act are severable.

128.070. The governor, on receipt of the certificates from the several counties in each district which [he] the governor may have received within fifteen days after the day of election, shall immediately add up the vote from the several counties, and [the]:

(1) For the electors nominated from congressional districts, each person [residing in any one district] having the highest number of votes given in [the state for any one person residing in the same] that person's electoraldistrict shall [by him] be declared by the governor to be the duly elected elector for [said] that electoral district[.]; and

(2) For the electors nominated as at-large electors, the two persons nominated by the party or person whose electors receive the highest number of votes given in the state shall be declared by the governor to be the two duly elected at-large electors.

128.080. If two or more persons [residing] who reside in one electoral district and who are standing for election as presidential electors from such electoral district shall have an equal number of votes given in such district, or if two or more persons who are standing for election as presidential electors at-large from different persons or parties shall have an equal number of votes given in the state, as aforesaid, and more than any other person residing in the same district or in the state, as the case may be, the governor shall immediately notify the general assembly thereof, and such election shall be determined by joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, by choosing one of the persons so having an equal number of votes.

EXPLANATION Matter enclosed in brackets [thus] in this law is not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law; new matter enacted and intended to be included in the law is shown underlined thus