Bill

SJR 116

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SJR 116 - This constitutional amendment, if approved by the voters, modifies the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan by providing for nonpartisan elections of judges of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals, rather than the nonpartisan selection by the Governor from the Nonpartisan Appellate Commission's nominees. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall also be elected, rather than selected by and from the judges of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice, and the Court of Appeals judges shall be elected for terms of six years, rather than terms of twelve years. Additionally, no Supreme Court judge, Chief Justice, or Court of Appeals judge shall be elected to a particular judicial seat for more than two consecutive terms. If the General Assembly has provided by law for three appellate districts that meet the districts described in the amendment, the Supreme Court Chief Justice shall be elected at large and two Supreme Court judges shall be elected from each court of appeals district by the voters eligible to vote within that district. If the General Assembly has provided for more than three appellate districts or the geographical boundaries of the districts change such that the three districts described in the amendment cannot be made, then the Supreme Court Chief Justice shall be elected at large and the election of other Supreme Court judges shall be established by law, or if no law timely establishes procedures for such elections, then elections for the Supreme Court Chief Justice and the Supreme Court judges shall be at large. A Supreme Court judge shall be a resident of the appellate district from which he or she is elected no later than the day of his or her election. Those Supreme Court judges currently holding office as of December 3, 2026, shall not be required to reside in any particular appellate district. Those judges along with those who have been retained and the offices with vacancies shall be assigned a seat designation as described in the amendment for purposes of implementing elections and filling vacancies. Additionally, this amendment provides the order of elections for judges of the Court of Appeals based on the last retention election for each seat. No political party shall nominate any candidate for these judicial offices, and no primary or general election ballot shall include a party designation for any of these judicial offices. The General Assembly shall make no law prohibiting a candidate from declaring himself or herself a supporter of a political party, or prohibiting a political party from declaring its support for a candidate. All declarations for candidacy for the office of judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or judge of the Court of Appeals shall be filed with the Secretary of State no later than 120 days before the primary election. All declarations shall be accompanied by: (1) A nominating petition signed no earlier than 180 days before the primary election by 100 voters eligible to vote in the applicable appellate district, or in the case of the chief justice, in the state; or (2) A nomination form signed by all members of the Appellate Judicial Commission no earlier than 180 days before the primary. The Appellate Judicial Commission may issue nomination forms for up to three individuals per race, but it shall not issue a nomination form for any person who files a declaration accompanied by a nominating petition. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election shall stand in the general election and the candidate achieving the greatest number of votes in the general election shall be elected to the judicial office. The elections shall be held in the same manner as gubernatorial elections to the greatest extent possible for nonpartisan elections, or otherwise provided by law. Lastly, a judge or judicial candidate may announce his or her views on disputed legal or political issues provided that the judge or judicial candidate does not make pledges or promises to render specific rulings or decisions on pending litigation. A judicial candidate shall be allowed to solicit, receive, and make campaign contributions, and receive and make campaign expenditures for his or her campaign, subject only to laws that enact limits no more restrictive than those applicable to gubernatorial elections. Nothing in this amendment shall preclude the application of laws or rules of the Supreme Court governing judicial participation in specific cases based on a judge's political activity with respect to the subject matter or parties. This amendment is identical to SJR 3 (2025). KATIE O'BRIEN

Missouri proposes constitutional amendments modifying Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges' terms, term limits, and election methods to be nonpartisan, requiring voter approval.