Seay v. Jones

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU of Missouri) filed a petition July 2, 2014, on behalf of Civil Rights Leader Norman Seay, challenging the deceptive summary statement for early voting constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The summary statement that would appear on the ballot was written by the General Assembly, instead of the Secretary of State, who generally prepares the language that voters see on their ballots. It says:Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to permit voting in person or by mail for a period of six business days prior to and including Wednesday before the election day in all general elections?

“This is an untrue statement because advance voting will only be allowed after a state appropriation and disbursement of millions of dollars,” explains Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “Especially troubling is the fact that this proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot along with a separate citizen initiative that would permit early voting without an appropriation contingency.”

“Citizens gathered signatures to allow early voting, but the legislature is trying to trick the voters with a sham constitutional amendment that intentionally misleads,” says ACLU of Missouri Executive Director Jeffrey A. Mittman. “Instead of throwing up roadblocks, our state representatives need to promote democracy by ensuring everyone can cast a ballot.”

Update: Aug. 29, 2014

After a Cole County judge rejected our challenge to the ballot wording on Aug. 25, the Western District of Missouri's Court of Appeals approved an expedited schedule for the lawsuit and set a hearing for Friday, Sept. 12.

Update: Sept. 15, 2014

The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled that the ballot summary language proposed by the legislature would “mislead voters into believing that early voting will be allowed ‘in all general elections,’ even though such voting is subject to a significant contingency.”

"Our view has always been that voters should know what they are voting for," explains Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. "This measure would not guarantee early voting, as voters in most states enjoy, but would merely allow the legislature the option of implementing a narrow early voting regime in the future. This is not something proponents of early voting would favor."