Supreme Court of Missouri
No Bans on Choice, American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, and Sara E. Baker v. John R. Ashcroft
February 8, 2022
Summary
The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s declaratory judgment that sections 116.180 and 116.334.2 of the Revised Statutes are unconstitutional because they interfere with and impede the constitutional right of referendum under Article III, §§ 49 and 52(a) of the Missouri Constitution. The Court applied a de novo standard, finding the statutes unconstitutionally shorten the time available for signature collection. The decision rests on the principle that any legislative regulation must not impair the people’s reserved power to propose and reject laws by referendum.