Abstract
In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, the titular boy and tiger often play a game called Calvinball. There is only one rule to Calvinball: The game cannot be played the same way twice. In one strip, Calvin and Hobbes try to play football. Hobbes yells, “The center snaps the ball to the quarterback.” Calvin retorts, “No he doesn’t! He’s secretly the quarterback for the other team! He keeps the ball!” The game descends into chaos. At the end of the strip, Calvin says, “Sooner or later, all our games turn into Calvinball.” Much like the rules of Calvinball, the rules for submitting a ballot initiative in Missouri are complex and ripe for abuse, and they never seem to play out the same way twice. Article III, Section 49 of the Missouri Constitution provides a constitutional right to ballot initiative and referendum. Prior to a public vote, a Missouri ballot initiative must go through an extensive approval process—all before proponents can even gather the requisite signatures. Step one: The initiative’s proponent must submit a sample sheet to the Secretary of State. Step two: The State Auditor must prepare a fiscal note summary that summarizes the initiative’s estimated cost or savings. Step three: The Secretary of State must prepare a summary statement. Step four: The Attorney General must approve the fiscal note summary’s legal content and form. Step five: The Secretary of State must certify the official ballot title, which contains the summary statement and fiscal note summary. Even if all five steps are functioning properly, this entire process can take up to fifty-one days. Then, and only then, can the proponent start gathering signatures. Due to the lengthy and bureaucratic process, state officials who oppose an initiative can delay signature gathering and effectively block it entirely.
Recommended Citation
Eric Humphrey,
Calvinball in Cole County:State ex rel. Fitz-James v. Bailey,
89 Mo. L. Rev.
(2024)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol89/iss3/10