JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri officials and opponents of proposed constitutional Amendment 3, which would alter the state’s map-making system for legislative districts, aren’t finished with courtroom wrangling ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
The attorney general’s office on Tuesday gave notice that it intends to appeal Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce’s order on Monday tossing out a ballot summary for the amendment and replacing it with her own.
Joyce said the GOP-controlled Legislature had approved a ballot description for Amendment 3 that was “insufficient and unfair for many reasons†— in violation of Missouri law.
She ordered a new summary for the Nov. 3 ballot.
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Amendment 3 would nix the nonpartisan state demographer system that voters approved two years ago and replace it with bipartisan commissions that would control the process.
The redistricting change was the most controversial among a package of changes pushed by the “Clean Missouri†campaign in 2018.
Many Republicans believe the nonpartisan state demographer system would result in more Democrats serving in the Legislature.
The GOP currently holds a two-thirds majority in the Legislature despite statewide races routinely being decided by fewer than 10 percentage points.
The nonpartisan state demographer is to emphasize partisan fairness and competitiveness in new maps.
A “yes†vote on Amendment 3 in November would support the Legislature’s bipartisan commission; a “no†vote would oppose it.
The case now moves to the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, where the attorney general’s office — representing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, amendment sponsor Sen. Dan Hegeman and House Speaker Elijah Haahr — will defend the original ballot wording, which the GOP-controlled Legislature approved in May.
A hearing date has not been set.
