Vote "NO" on proposed changes to Joplin's Home Rule Charter this November 6

On Tuesday, November 6, Joplin voters will be asked whether they want to make it harder for citizens to place initiative questions on the ballot.

The proposed changes would unnecessarily complicate Joplin's initiative process in two ways. First, Proposed Ordinance No. 2007-164 would require signature gatherers to be registered voters of Joplin. Second, it would increase the number of signatures required to qualify a petition from 10% of registered voters to 15%.

Click here to see the changes Proposed Ordinance No. 2007-164 would make to Article XIV ofJoplin's Home Rule Charter.

Increasing the number of signatures needed to qualify a petition for placement on the ballot is unnecessary and will do nothing but make it harder for citizens to take part in the democratic process. Initiative petitions in Joplin are rare to begin with, so there is simply no reason to make the process more restrictive than it already is.

In 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Colorado's requirement that petition circulators be registered voters, pointing out that such a requirement drastically reduces the number of persons available to circulate petitions. Michigan changed their statute in response to this ruling and now requires only that petitioners be qualified to be a registered voter.

More recently, a U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho issued a preliminary injunction that bars the city of Hailey from requiring that initiators of initiatives be residents of the city.

Clearly, states and courts across the country are making it known that restricting the initiative process is something than can only be done with good reason and if the restrictions are narrowly tailored.

If the proposed ordinance is enacted, then getting initiatives like the much-anticipated proposal to reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana on Joplin's ballot next November will be more difficult. Click here to read a great article by The Associated Press about the initiative.

Please remember to protect the initiative process by voting "NO" on Proposed Ordinance No. 2007-164 on November 6.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this information along to your friends and family in Joplin, so that others can vote to protect the initiative process. If you have any questions about marijuana reform in Missouri, please contact Nathan Miller by calling (202) 462-5747, ext. 118 or e-mailing Nathan@mpp.org.