JEFFERSON CITY — On Tuesday, Secretary Ashcroft issued the following statement regarding the recent court announcement to uphold the ballot language issued by his office regarding HJR35.
This proposed amendment would change Article IV, Section 15 of the Missouri Constitution to expand the State Treasurer’s authority to invest in additional securities and allow the legislature to override constitutional requirements on investments.
“The Summary Statement portion of the Official Ballot Title of Amendment 1 fairly and sufficiently summarizes Amendment 1,” Judge Green said in his Final Judgment statement. “The Summary Statement prepared by the Secretary of State is hereby certified with no changes.”
“We are pleased that the court ruled in our favor and that the Fair Ballot Language is certified to be used at all polling places,” Ashcroft said. “This was ridiculous from the beginning. It was a complete waste of taxpayer funds in an attempt to force a specific voter outcome on the amendment. I am pleased that the court affirmed that our summary of what the amendment would do was fair and sufficient.”