In a significant development regarding sports betting in Missouri, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green has made a ruling that will give voters the power to decide whether to legalize sports betting in the state. The constitutional amendment question will be included on the November 5 ballot, allowing Missourians to have their say on the matter. The court sided with the defense, including Secretary of State John “Jay” Ashcroft and the Winning for Missouri Education coalition, while dismissing the arguments made by the plaintiffs in all four counts.
The Dispute Over Signatures
Earlier this year, the Winning for Missouri Education group submitted over 340,000 signatures to ensure the sports betting initiative would be placed on the November ballot. This initiative, if passed, would also generate significant funding for Missouri’s education system. However, on August 21, plaintiffs Jacqueline Wood and Blake Lawrence raised concerns, arguing that the signature counts in the First and Fifth Congressional Districts were inaccurate, challenging Ashcroft’s certification of their sufficiency.
The plaintiffs’ main contention was focused on the First Congressional District, arguing that Ashcroft had made an incorrect determination of the required valid signatures for that district. Their legal counsel claimed that Ashcroft failed to consider the boundaries of the most recent Congressional redistricting when certifying the petition’s signatures. However, Judge Green noted that since the new boundaries had not yet been used in a gubernatorial election, Ashcroft was not required to use them when validating the number of signatures.
Plaintiffs’ Additional Claims
Beyond the dispute over boundaries, the plaintiffs also took issue with Ashcroft’s overall method of certifying the number of valid signatures. They argued that Ashcroft’s certification did not adhere to the guidelines set out in Section 128.461, RSMo, which outlines how the number of necessary signatures should be determined based on current district boundaries. Moreover, the plaintiffs claimed Ashcroft improperly certified the signatures from the First and Fifth Congressional Districts, believing some of them were not legally valid.
Wood also claimed that her rights under the 14th Amendment were violated. She argued that the method used to certify signatures unfairly reduced the impact of voters from Missouri’s Third Congressional District compared to those from the First District.
However, Judge Green made it clear that the plaintiffs needed to prove that at least 83 signatures from the First District were invalid in order for their challenge to succeed. Since all of the signatures submitted for that district were on notarized pages, the court presumed them to be valid.
A Victory for Sports Betting Advocates
The Winning for Missouri Education coalition, unsurprisingly, welcomed the court’s decision. They called it an expected outcome and referred to the ruling as a “big victory for Missourians,” noting that the state could soon join 38 others that already allow sports betting. According to the coalition, legalizing sports betting in Missouri could provide tens of millions in dedicated, permanent funding for public schools each year.
In their statement, the coalition also pointed out that for years, Missourians have had to watch as fans crossed state lines to place sports bets in other states, which in turn deprived Missouri’s schools of much-needed financial support. They urged voters to support Amendment 2 in November to ensure that the funding generated by sports betting stays within the state and benefits Missouri classrooms.
Public Opinion on the Matter
Recent polling suggests that a significant number of Missourians are ready to embrace sports betting. A survey conducted by Emerson College Polling/The Hill between June 17 and June 19, 2024, revealed that more than one-third of the 1,000 registered voters surveyed expressed support for the legalization of sports betting. These results indicate that a substantial portion of the state’s population may be in favor of the amendment, although it remains to be seen how the vote will turn out in November.
With the court’s ruling, Missourians will now get the chance to decide on the future of sports betting in the state during the upcoming November referendum. The outcome could bring millions in additional funding for education, aligning Missouri with the majority of states where sports betting is already legal. The battle over signatures and district boundaries may have been resolved in court, but the ultimate decision now rests with Missouri voters.
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