Petition Pipeline

Political activism in the Show-Me State appears to be alive and well. From addressing Wal-Mart’s plans in Springfield’s center city, to puppy mills across the state, initiative and referendum petitions are an avenue for activists to address their concerns.

While the petition process represents direct democracy to some, it’s a concerning trend to others. One thing is for certain: Petitions are shaping the political landscape in the Queen City and across Missouri.

Sixty-five petitions were approved for circulation in Missouri this year, up from 25 in 2008, and 18 in 2002, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Most recently, a local referendum petition tied to an amendment of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance seeks to remove protections extended to residents by Springfield City Council based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The SOGI petition was certified and is expected to appear on the April 7 municipal ballot.

Last month, the Missouri Supreme Court decided not to hear a rezoning case brought by petitioners against the city of Springfield, which effectively forwarded efforts for a sixth Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in town. Those gathering signatures opposed Wal-Mart’s plans at the southwest corner of Grand Street and Campbell Avenue and had hoped to have Springfield voters weigh in on the issue.

Across the state, voters passed Proposition B, known as the puppy-mill act, in 2010. Last month, Amendment 3, which addressed teacher evaluation standards, failed at the ballot box.

How they work
Locally, Springfield City Clerk Brenda Cirtin said city staff work to assist would-be petitioners before they begin gathering signatures. That starts by knowing what the residents are attempting. Cirtin said initiative petitions seek to create laws, while referendum petitions are designed to repeal laws.

“The language has to be fairly specific, so the first thing we ask them to do is work with the law department,” she said. “We don’t want people out there doing this and then have the law department say it’s not worded correctly and, therefore, it’s invalid.”

With the SOGI ordinance, for example, petitioners had 30 days to submit signatures for a referendum petition after the bill passed Oct. 13.

With referendum petitions, city charter stipulates the number of voter signatures needed is 10% of the highest number of votes cast for a single office at the last municipal election, which occurs every odd year in April. For SOGI, the highest number of votes cast was 11,444, meaning 1,144 registered voters were needed to send the issue back to council.

The city’s governing body then had to choose to repeal the ordinance, send the measure to voters or do nothing, which would automatically send the referendum to the ballot. Council moved to table the issue for more than 30 days, placing it among April 7 election issues for voters. According to Greene County Clerk Richard Struckhoff, election costs can vary depending on the municipalities involved, but last April’s election cost over $150,000. He said the SOOI referendum would add some print costs, but the election already was scheduled.

Based on changes implemented by city council in 2012, after facing petition-led battles related to E-Verify and smoking ordinances, the threshold for initiative petitions is higher. Cirtin said those seeking to establish a new law now have to attain signatures from 7 percent of the total number of registered voters within city limits at the last April election. With 103,000 registered voters in Springfield, more than 7,000 signatures would be needed.

Potential restrictions
At the state level, Rep. Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, prefiled a related bill and resolution on Dec. 2 that would make it harder for petitioners to change the state’s constitution.

“Our constitution was created in 1820 and overhauled in 1942, and I think it was approved by voters in 1945. Since that time, it has been amended over 60 times,” he said, adding much of that activity has come in the past decade.

Haahr, an attorney with Aaron Sachs & Associates PC said initiative petitions, as well as legislator-led efforts to amend the constitution with the help of voters, are driving the trend.

“The state constitution is now over 100 pages long. It’s become a glorified secondary statute code,” Haahr said. “A few of us were concerned about it, and wanted to find a way to protect the sacredness of the constitution.”

Through House Bill 97 and House Joint Resolution 4, Haahr proposes any change to the constitution require a 60 percent approval from voters. He said that would have kept such issues as the right-to-farm bill and Proposition B from amending the constitution, as both received less than a 52 percent approval, noting he believes initiative petitions circumvent the legislative process at the state level.

Nationally, Missouri is one of 24 states that allows voters to initiate laws through the petition process, according to BallotPedia.org.

Concerning trend
When it comes to petitions, views are mixed. Over the last two years, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce supported reforming the state’s petition process, said Sandy Howard, vice president of public affairs for the chamber. Howard said there is concern among members of the business community that groups outside the state are influencing the political process.

“Just a few years ago, there were not that many petitions at the state level,” Howard said.

The chamber supports reforms including that those gathering signatures must be Missouri residents and that a bipartisan panel review the language being proposed before going to voters.

“I think the bar has been too low,” Howard said, adding she believes Haahr’s move to tighten petition guidelines is a good step.

Ironically, Haahr said if his proposal gains traction, a simple majority vote is all that’s needed to implement the change.

Springfield attorney Jason Umbarger, who represented petitioners in the Wal-Mart case, said the process itself is valuable to many.  

“Defending the petition process was important to my clients because of deeply held beliefs about the importance of democracy and legitimacy in governance. At great expense and personal sacrifice, each of my clients stood up for the rights of each of us in our community and our right to access the ballot box,” Umbarger said by email. “Our team is presently working together in the process of exploring our options to continue our work for the rights of people in our community.”