Ballot amendments include term limits, changes to redistricting

By: 
Steve Chapman

Voters to decide Nov. 3 on change of 2018 ballot issue which passed with more than 60 percent favor
 
When Missouri voters go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3, they will be asked to vote on two amendments to the Missouri State Constitution. Amendment 1 would impose the same term limits on state executive officials as those currently on the governor and the state treasurer. Amendment 3, would ask voters to set limits on the amounts of campaign contributions individuals can donate to candidates, and also return the redistricting process to bipartisan redistricting commissions.
Amendment 1
According to Ballotpedia, Amendment 1 would limit the state’s lieutenant governor, state auditor, secretary of state and attorney general to two terms in a lifetime. Currently, those term limits only apply to the governor and state treasurer.
Amendment 1 has been largely uncontroversial in the election. Ballotpedia reported being unable to find any political action committees being formed either for or against the proposed amendment. Missouri voters have a history of approving term limits. The current term limit for the governor was adopted in 1965 when 73-percent of Missouri voters voted to approve it. Term limits for Missouri State legislators were adopted in 1992, when 75-percent of Missouri voters approved limiting their terms in office to eight years in each house. That same year, 74-percent of Missouri voters approved a limit of two terms for Missouri U.S. senators and a limit of four terms for Missouri U.S. representatives.
 Amendment 3
Also on the ballot is Amendment 3. According to Ballotpedia, Amendment 3 lowers the permitted dollar amount on lobbyist gifts from $5 to $0, lowers the legal campaign contribution amount for state senate campaigns from $2,500 to $2,400, eliminates the nonpartisan state demographer position, creates bi-partisan commissions appointed by the governor for legislative redistricting and alters the criteria used to draw district maps.
By eliminating the state demographer position and returning to the use of bi-partisan commissions, Amendment 3 would essentially undo the Amendment 1, also known as the “Clean Missouri” amendment, which 62-percent of Missourians voted for in 2018.
Support and opposition for issue
Support for Amendment 3 is being led by Fair Missouri, a ballot measure committee. On their website, they claim that Amendment 3 will “put the priority of the redistricting process on ensuring that representation comes directly from communities, and that it keeps cities and towns whole,” protect the representation of minority populations and create a bi-partisan commission which will “significantly decrease the chance of corruption.” Ballotpedia reports that Fair Missouri and another ballot measure committee called the Missouri Farm Bureau Fund for Real Representation have raised $286,539 in contributions in support of Amendment 3.
The ballot measure committee Clean Missouri is leading the “No on 3 campaign.” On their website, they claim that Amendment 3 will “overturn the fair map rules put into law by voters, and to replace the good policy in our constitution now with a radical gerrymandering scheme.”
“Their plan is deceptive, deceitful, and all about protecting incumbent politicians in rigged, super-safe districts where voters can’t hold them accountable,” the website also states. Ballotpedia reports that Clean Missouri has raised over $7.2 million in campaign contributions.
More information on Amendments 1 and 3 are available at www.ballotpedia.org.
 

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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