‘No conspiracy’: Yes, it’s normal for Medicaid expansion to be the last ballot item

Referendums are always the last item to appear on Missouri ballots. For some voters, that means the proposed constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid is the only item on the back of a single-sheet ballot, leading some to wonder whether the question was intentionally hidden.

Jackson County Election Director Corey Dillon said ballots vary by district and party but that no one is intentionally trying to keep voters from noticing the Medicaid expansion question.

“I cross my heart and hope to die. There is no conspiracy to make that question be on the back of the ballot,” Dillon said. “Questions are at the end of the ballot. It’s on the front of many ballots in Jackson County and it’s on the back of some.

“In Jackson County, there are all sorts of districts and jurisdictions. You’ve got state rep candidates on the ballot in some districts and not in others. You’ve got state senate candidates on the ballot in some districts and not in others.”

Jackson County produces not just Republican and Democratic ballots, but also Libertarian, Constitution and Green Party ballots for each district.

“In districts where there are multiple candidates on the ballot on one party or another, the ballot could look different from the Democratic Party ballot to the Republican Party ballot to the Constitution or Libertarian,” Dillon said.

Polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.