Background
People Not Politicians and Richard von Glahn sought to refer House Bill 1, a congressional-redistricting measure, to Missouri voters. Before the governor signed the bill and before the secretary of state approved the referendum petition form, the proponents submitted sample sheets and began collecting signatures.
The secretary rejected early sample sheets, maintained that signatures collected before the governor signed HB 1 or before the secretary approved the petition form would not be verified or counted, and later approved a substantially similar sheet. The proponents alleged they collected about 102,800 signatures during the disputed periods. After a bench trial, the circuit court ultimately ruled for the secretary on the merits, holding he could reject the sample sheets and refuse to verify or count those signatures.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court of Missouri vacated the circuit court’s judgment and dismissed the case as moot. On August 4, 2026, the secretary certified the HB 1 referendum petition as insufficient for constitutional reasons unrelated to the number of signatures. In a related decision, the secretary conceded that the petition had been timely filed and contained at least the constitutionally required number of signatures.
That concession meant a ruling on whether the disputed signatures were valid could provide the proponents no effectual relief. The circuit court therefore should not have decided the merits after the certificate of insufficiency issued. The court declined to apply the capable-of-repetition-yet-evading-review exception, reasoning that future referendum proponents can circulate petitions during comparable periods and, if needed, litigate signature validity through a section 116.200 challenge.
Key Takeaways
- A dispute over disputed referendum signatures is moot when the secretary concedes the petition has enough signatures and rejects it for other reasons.
- A trial court should dismiss a moot case rather than enter a merits ruling.
- The court did not decide whether signatures may be collected before the governor signs the challenged act or before the secretary approves the petition form.
Why It Matters
The decision leaves unresolved the timing rules for collecting signatures on Missouri referendum petitions. It also underscores that election-law disputes must present a live controversy capable of affecting relief; courts will not decide the merits merely because the issue could recur.