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Panel advances measure setting 10% signature threshold and other limits for ballot initiatives
Summary
The committee advanced SCR 5 18, proposing that ballot-initiative petitions require signatures equal to 10% of active registered voters (approximately 170,000 signatures) and capping signatures so no more than one-third may come from any single congressional district; it also includes a reverse repealer and a clause preserving the right to life.
The Senate Elections Committee advanced SCR 5 18, a proposed constitutional amendment and statutory vehicle designed to reestablish a statewide ballot-initiative process with updated thresholds and limitations.
The committee chair said the measure ties the petition requirement to 10% of active registered voters — roughly 170,000 signatures based on current rolls — rather than to turnout in a prior gubernatorial election. The chair also described several structural limits: a reverse repealer, a prohibition in the measure that no initiative may deprive a human being of the right to life, and a rule that no more than 0.333 (one-third) of signatures may originate in any single congressional district.
Senator Tate raised a legal question about severability, asking whether the preservation-of-life lines could be struck in court while leaving the rest of the measure intact. The chair said the draft does not include a severability clause and promised to provide a floor response and follow up. Senator Blunt urged the committee to consider raising the legislative override threshold to two-thirds (0.667) instead of 60% and warned that placing an alternative on the ballot could cause unnecessary voter confusion.
Why it matters: The proposal changes how initiatives qualify for the ballot and how the Legislature may later alter initiative-driven statutes, which could reshape opportunities for citizen-initiated lawmaking in the state.
The committee adopted the committee substitute for SCR 5 18 by voice vote and will report the measure for further consideration.
