Gov. Nixon signs bill preventing costly ballot reprinting

8^th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release:

July 14, 2015

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact:

(573) 751-1464

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill setting a deadline for courts to respond to challenges on ballot language today.

The legislature passed Senate Bill 104 after a 2014 legal challenge to a referendum’s ballot language required county officials to reprint ballots and cost the state approximately $700,000.

“This new law is designed to help local election authorities and avoid wasting taxpayer money on unnecessary ballot reprinting,” Sen. Will Kraus, bill sponsor, said.

Current law provides that when a referendum is placed on the ballot, legal challenges to the language must be decided by the courts six weeks prior to the election. In the 2014 case, the judge ruled that a small change must be made to the ballot language close to the six-week deadline, after county official had already printed the ballots. Local election authorities reprinted ballots to reflect the change.

Senate Bill 104 will push the courts’ deadline to eight weeks. This two-week increase would be enough to prevent a similar costly reprint, according to election authorities who helped Kraus craft the bill. The costs for reprinting ballots are initially covered by the counties, and then are reimbursed by the state’s General Revenue fund. Reprinting ballots can cause a temporary budget shortfall, particularly in smaller counties, that may not have the extra money in their operating budgets.

“Senate Bill 104 allows local election authorities to be certain they will not have to reprint ballots,” Kraus said. “It helps county officials and ensures we do not waste taxpayer money.”