Missouri Constitutional Convention Question (2042)
| Missouri Constitutional Convention Question | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 4, 2042 | |
| Topic Constitutional conventions | |
| Status On the ballot | |
| Type Automatic referral | Origin Dictated by law |
The Missouri Constitutional Convention Question is on the ballot in Missouri as an automatic ballot referral on November 4, 2042.
A "yes" vote supports holding a state constitutional convention. |
A "no" vote opposes holding a state constitutional convention. |
In Missouri, a state constitutional convention question is provided to voters every 20 years after the prior question. Missourians addressed a constitutional convention question in 2022.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for this measure is as follows:
| “ | Shall there be a convention to revise and amend the constitution? | ” |
Background
Constitutional Convention Question (2022)
In 2022, about two-thirds (67.75%) of voters rejected the question to call a state constitutional convention. There were no PACs registered to support or oppose the question in 2022. The state's two largest newspapers — The Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post-Dispatch — endorsed "No" votes on the question.[1][2]
List of constitutional convention questions in Missouri
According to Section 3(a) of Article XII of the Missouri Constitution, a constitutional convention question is called in Missouri every 20 years beginning in 1962. The following table provides a list of the questions since then and their results:
| Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Question | 36.29% | 63.71% | |
| 1982 | Question | 30.48% | 69.52% | |
| 2002 | Question | 34.55% | 65.45% | |
| 2022 | Question | 32.25% | 67.75% |
Automatic constitutional convention questions
- See also: State constitutional conventions
In 14 states, a constitutional convention question is an automatic ballot referral, meaning no legislative vote is required. Rather, the state constitution includes a provision calling for the question at a specific interval. Oklahoma has a requirement; however, state officials have declined to place a question on the ballot since 1970.
| State | Interval | Last question on the ballot | Next question on the ballot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 10 years | 2022 | 2032 |
| Iowa | 10 years | 2020 | 2030 |
| New Hampshire | 10 years | 2022 | 2032 |
| Rhode Island | 10 years | 2024 | 2034 |
| Hawaii | 10 years | 2018 | 2028 |
| Michigan | 16 years | 2010 | 2026 |
| Connecticut | 20 years | 2008 | 2028 |
| Illinois | 20 years | 2008 | 2028 |
| Maryland | 20 years | 2010 | 2030 |
| Missouri | 20 years | 2022 | 2042 |
| Montana | 20 years | 2010 | 2030 |
| New York | 20 years | 2017 | 2037 |
| Ohio | 20 years | 2012 | 2032 |
| Oklahoma | 20 years | 1970 | N/A |
Path to the ballot
- See also: State constitutional conventions
In Missouri, a state constitutional convention question is provided to voters every 20 years after the prior question. Missourians addressed a constitutional convention question in 2022.
Section 3(a) of Article XII of the Missouri Constitution governs the constitutional convention question. The following is Section 3(a) of Article XII:
Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the text below to see the full text.
Referendum on Constitutional Convention-—Qualifications of Delegates Selection of Nominees for District Delegates and Delegates-at-Large—Election Procedure
At the general election on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November 1962, and every twenty years thereafter, the secretary of state shall, and at any general or special election the general assembly by law may, submit to the electors of the state the question “Shall there be a convention to revise and amend the constitution?” The question shall be submitted on a separate ballot without party designation, and if a majority of the votes cast thereon is for the affirmative, the governor shall call an election of delegates to the convention on a day not less than three nor more than six months after the election on the question. At the election the electors of the state shall elect fifteen delegates-at-large and the electors of each state senatorial district shall elect two delegates. Each delegate shall possess the qualifications of a senator; and no person holding any other office of trust or profit (officers of the organized militia, school directors, justices of the peace and notaries public excepted) shall be eligible to be elected a delegate. To secure representation from different political parties in each senatorial district, in the manner prescribed by its senatorial district committee each political party shall nominate but one candidate for delegate from each senatorial district, the certificate of nomination shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state at least thirty days before the election, each candidate shall be voted for on a separate ballot bearing the party designation, each elector shall vote for but one of the candidates, and the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in each senatorial district shall be elected. Candidates for delegates-at-large shall be nominated by nominating petitions only, which shall be signed by electors of the state equal to five percent of the legal voters in the senatorial district in which the candidate resides until otherwise provided by law, and shall be verified as provided by law for initiative petitions, and filed in the office of the secretary of state at least thirty days before the election. All such candidates shall be voted for on a separate ballot without party designation, and the fifteen receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. Not less than fifteen days before the election, the secretary of state shall certify to the county clerk of the county the name of each person nominated for the office of delegate from the senatorial district in which the county, or any part of it, is included, and the names of all persons nominated for delegates-at-large.[3]
See also
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Footnotes
- ↑ The Kansas City Star, "The Missouri Constitution is an outdated mess. Outside big money would make it worse," August 26, 2022
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Editorial: Our recommendations for Nov. 8 ballot amendments and the constitutional question," October 19, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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