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NewsThe Governor signed SB 22, the “Let Politicians Lie Act,” on April 24. This dangerous and unworkable law upends the checks and balances that allow the judicial branch to remedy misleading ballot language.
This new law has an emergency clause so it took effect immediately:
- Letting partisan politicians rewrite ballot summary language up to three times, even after courts rule them unlawful and misleading.
- Expanding the attorney general’s ability to block citizen-led measures before they reach voters.
- Allowing partisan politicians to write summaries designed to get their preferred outcome on ballot measures
- Giving the attorney general the power to appeal preliminary injunctions granted in cases where the state or a statewide official is blocked from enforcing a law or statute.
"SB22 is bad policy. It leaves ballot language solely in the hands of the legislature or Secretary of State which can over-politicize the process,” says LWVMO President Marilyn McLeod. “It takes away the oversight power of the courts to fix misleading ballot language and would create unnecessary or even impossible delays in getting an issue on the ballot. The voters should have accurate, and not misleading, information in order to cast their votes.” She testified against SB 22 in a House hearing.
The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition says the new law "removes judicial checks and balances and incentivizes politicalization of ballot measure language. Fortunately, a lawsuit is underway challenging the removal of these crucial judicial checks on political deception and biased language. Missourians deserve better. Missourians deserve fair ballot language. And they deserve to have their votes respected by the people who work for them."
The League believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government. The League further believes that governmental bodies must protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings, and making public records accessible. (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024-2026, p 59)
League to which this content belongs:
Missouri
