On August 31, a Missouri state circuit court judge ruled that election officials may not disqualify signatures on petitions, just because the circulator didn’t register with the state.  The law still stands that says circulators must register with the state.  But the judgment says that just because the circulator did not register with the state, that cannot be the basis for invalidating signatures.  The Court focused on the harm done to the people who sign petitions, when their signatures aren’t counted, through no fault of their own.

The Secretary of State will appeal directly to the Missouri Supreme Court, but meanwhile will certify the particular initiative for the November 2010 ballot.  The case is McClelland and Vote Yes to Stop Double Taxation Committee v Secretary of State, Cole County, 10ac-cc-00504.  Thanks to Bryan Sells for this news.