Review and approval of a summary statement prepared for the initiative petition submitted by Patricia Thomas regarding a proposed amendment to Article V of the Missouri Constitution, version 1 (2018-317).

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI JEFFERSON CITY JOSHUA D. HAWLEY P.O. Box 899 ATTORNEY GENERAL 65102 (573) 751-3321 January 19, 2018 OPINION LETTER NO. 26-2018 The Honorable John R. Ashcroft Missouri Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center 600 West Main Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Dear Secretary Ashcroft: This opinion letter responds to your request dated January 9, 2018, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Patricia Thomas regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to amend Article V of the Missouri Constitution, version 1 (2018-317). The proposed summary statement is as follows: Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to provide that: supreme court and court of appeals (appellate court) judges shall be elected in nonpartisan elections, but can declare their support for a political party and be endorsed by a political party; the term of an appellate court judge shall be reduced from 12 years to 6 years; no appellate court judge can be elected to a particular judicial seat for more than two consecutive terms; OP-2018-0016 www.ago.mo.gov The Honorable John R. Ashcroft Page 2 the governor fills appellate court vacancies without recommendations from the appellate judicial commission; and all judicial candidates can receive and make campaign contributions? Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents. Very truly yours, J. HAWLEY Attorney General OP-2018-0016