The Missouri Legislature adjourned last month. It is scheduled to go back into session in September. This is the annual veto session where the legislature has an opportunity to override any of the governor’s vetoes.
The Republican majority enacted a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban ranked choice voting in most of the state. The amendment, if approved by the voters, would also ban noncitizen voting and confirm that elections could only be carried out with paper ballots or with any mechanical method prescribed by law. The City of St. Louis presently allows a voter to vote for as many candidates as they want in a primary election, so the city is not affected by the ranked-choice voting ban.
The most common form of ranked-choice voting is a voting method where voters select numerous candidates in order of preference. If no candidate has sufficient votes to win, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their second choice votes redistributed to the remaining candidates. This process continues until a winner is declared.
Proponents of ranked-choice voting claim that it promotes more voter participation because it offers more choices. A voter is not choosing the lesser of two evils. Proponents also claim that negative campaigning is lessened because candidates are competing for second and other choice votes. By competing for more than first-place votes, proponents claim that candidates are more issue-focused. This voting method could ensure that a voter’s vote is counted even if their first-place choice does not win.
Opponents argue that ranked-choice voting is contrary to the concept of one person, one vote. They claim it is too complicated and too expensive. Voters may be confused and cast more than one vote for a candidate rather than rank the votes. New equipment may have to be purchased and personnel trained on this new method of tabulating votes.
The governor will decide whether this proposed constitutional amendment will be on the August or the November ballot. He cannot veto measures referred to the people.
I am sure proponents and opponents will be distributing more information on why you, the voter, should support or not support the proposed amendment. You can do your own research now that you have been alerted about the proposal. Our form of government depends upon fully informed citizens.
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