Ashcroft approves Medicaid expansion petition in time for Parson to pick election date
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced Friday afternoon that an initiative petition seeking to expand Medicaid eligibility has collected enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot.
And because Ashcroft expedited the process of verifying signatures using random sampling instead of sending them to local election authorities, Gov. Mike Parson could still move the issue off of the November ballot and place it on the August primary ballot.
Ashcroft said he used random sampling to avoid burdening local election authorities so close to a municipal election, which was moved from April to June 2 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Traditionally, signatures are sent to local officials around the state to verify their authenticity and ensure enough were collected to place a measure on the statewide ballot.
But state law gives the secretary of state the ability to instead use random sampling, which involves examination of five percent of the signatures.
“We carefully considered whether to have local election officials conduct signature verifications at the same time as they are preparing for the June election,” Ashcroft said. “After visiting all 116 election officials in the state over the last two weeks, I know we made the right decision. It would have created a tremendous amount of work for them at the same time they prepare for, conduct and certify their local election.”
A.J. Bockelman, campaign manager for the pro-expansion campaign, celebrated the announcement.
“Today’s certification is a tremendous first step forward in improving access to healthcare for Missourians,” he said.
But some proponents cried foul, contending that Ashcroft’s motivation was actually to ensure any vote on Medicaid takes place during a lower-turnout primary in August instead of the November general election, when the president, governor and nearly every other statewide official will be on the ballot as well.
Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City attorney, sent a letter to Ashcroft’s office Friday morning arguing that in order to use random sampling the secretary of state should have to go through a formal rule making process to establish how the sampling is conducted.
That wasn’t done, Hatfield said.
“...There are no rules or regulations governing the random sampling of initiative petition signatures,” he wrote. “As a result, you have no authority to deviate from the normal practice and conduct a random sampling process in order to put Medicaid expansion on the August ballot.”
According to the secretary of state’s office, random sampling has been used to certify initiative petitions at least three times previously: twice by Republican Roy Blunt and once by Democrat Rebecca Cook.
The deadline for Parson to move the question to the August ballot is May 26.
Kelli Jones, Parson’s press secretary, told The Star via email that that she cannot confirm any rumors that the governor may wish to move the Medicaid expansion measure to the August ballot.
“I will likely have more confirmed information to share next week,” she said.
Republican have blocked Medicaid expansion in Missouri for years. In response, proponents gathered nearly 350,000 signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income adults.
Supporters estimate 230,000 additional low-income adults would enroll in Medicaid, if voters approve the expansion.
Thirty-six states have adopted Medicaid expansion measures, including several Republican-leaning states where voters approved ballot measures.
Missouri’s Medicaid program does not cover most adults without children. The income eligibility threshold for adults with children is about one-fifth of the poverty level, one of the lowest cutoffs nationally. Eligibility thresholds are higher for children, seniors and the disabled.
Opponents have said Medicaid expansion will drive up costs for state government, which already is hard pressed because of the coronavirus hit to the economy.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 4:15 PM.
