Payne v. Kirkpatrick

I dissent because I do not believe the circuit court acquired jurisdiction to order the initiative in this case to be placed on the ballot. Although no party has raised the issue of jurisdiction, it is our duty to examine the jurisdiction of the circuit court sua sponte. Justus v. Webb, 634 S.W.2d 567, 568[2] (Mo.App.1982).

The initiative petition in this case was delivered to the Secretary of State on July 5, 1984. The Secretary sent copies of each petition page to local election authorities for them to check the petition signatures against voter registration records. Sometime prior to…