EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 78
102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BROWN (26).
3502S.03P KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing sections 2 and 3 of article
VIII of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting three new sections in lieu thereof
relating to elections.
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the 1
state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
in November, 2024, or at a special election to be called by 3
the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
rejection, the following amendment to article VIII of the 6
Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
Section A. Sections 2 and 3, article VIII, Constitution 1
of Missouri, are repealed and three new sections adopted in 2
lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2, 3, and 24, to read as 3
follows:4
Section 2. [All] Only citizens of the United States, 1
including occupants of soldiers' and sailors' homes, over 2
the age of eighteen who are residents of this state and of 3
the political subdiv ision in which they offer to vote are 4
entitled to vote at all elections by the people, if the 5
election is one for which registration is required if they 6
are registered within the time prescribed by law, or if the 7 SS SJR 78 2
election is one for which registration is not required, if 8
they have been residents of the political subdivision in 9
which they offer to vote for thirty days next preceding the 10
election for which they offer to vote: Provided however, no 11
person who has a guardian of his or her estate or perso n by 12
reason of mental incapacity, appointed by a court of 13
competent jurisdiction and no person who is involuntarily 14
confined in a mental institution pursuant to an adjudication 15
of a court of competent jurisdiction shall be entitled to 16
vote, and persons convicted of felony, or crime connected 17
with the exercise of the right of suffrage may be excluded 18
by law from voting. 19
Section 3. 1. All elections by the people shall be by 1
paper ballot or by any mechanical method prescribed by la w. 2
2. Voters shall have only a single vote for each issue 3
on which such voter is eligible to vote. Voters shall have 4
the same number of votes for an office as the number of open 5
seats to be elected to such office at that election. Under 6
no circumstance shall a voter be permitted to cast a ballot 7
in a manner that results in the ranking of candidates for a 8
particular office. Notwithstanding any provision of this 9
subsection to the contrary, this subsection shall not apply 10
to any nonpartisan municipal election held in a city that 11
had an ordinance in effect as of November 5, 2024, that 12
permits voters to cast more than a single vote for each 13
issue or candidate on which such voter is eligible to vote. 14
3. All election officers shall be sw orn or affirmed 15
not to disclose how any voter voted; provided, that in cases 16
of contested elections, grand jury investigations and in the 17
trial of all civil or criminal cases in which the violation 18
of any law relating to elections, including nominating 19
elections, is under investigation or at issue, such officers 20 SS SJR 78 3
may be required to testify and the ballots cast may be 21
opened, examined, counted, and received as evidence. 22
Section 24. 1. The person receiving the greatest 1
number of votes at a primary election as a party candidate 2
for an office shall be the only candidate for that party for 3
the office at the general election. The name of such 4
candidate shall be placed on the official ballot at the 5
general election unless removed or replaced as provided by 6
law. 7
2. The person receiving the greatest number of votes 8
at the general election shall be declared the winner. 9
3. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to 10
the contrary, this section shall not apply to any 11
nonpartisan municipal election held in a city that had an 12
ordinance in effect as of November 5, 2024, that requires a 13
preliminary election at which more than one candidate 14
advances to a subsequent election. 15
Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other 1
applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state 2
allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for 3
the submission of this joint resolution to the voters of 4
this state, the official summary statement of this 5
resolution shall be as follows: 6
"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: 7
● Make the Constitution consistent with state 8
law by only allowing citizens of the United 9
States to vote; 10
● Prohibit the ranking of candidates by 11
limiting voters to a single vo te per candidate 12
or issue; and 13 SS SJR 78 4
● Require the plurality winner of a political 14
party primary to be the single candidate at a 15
general election?". 16