By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board

Coming soon to a public sidewalk near you …

A petition calling for early voting in Missouri.

Another one seeking to eliminate property taxes, as well as sales taxes levied by cities and counties.

And many more.

A year before the 2010 statewide election, Missouri’s initiative petition machine is in high gear. A record 71 proposed initiatives already have been submitted to the secretary of state. So far, 19 are on track for circulation.

 Not all will make it on the ballot. Missouri correctly sets a high bar for attempts to amend its constitution.
Advocates this year must gather a minimum of 146,907 signatures, from six of the state’s nine congressional districts.

Used well, the petition process allows citizens to circumvent legislative gridlock and get things done.

That’s the case with the initiative filed by former state League of Women Voters President Jo Sapp of Columbia. She thinks Missouri should join the majority of states that allow early voting. But Republican legislators refuse to move on the issue until Democrats drop their opposition to requiring voters to show photo identification. Sapp’s petition may move the issue along.

Missouri’s initiative petition process also makes it fertile territory for out-of-state groups seeking to promote causes — not all of them helpful.

If supporters gather enough signatures, Missouri will join several other states in voting on a “personhood amendment.”

Backed by a national anti-abortion movement, the effort seeks to define “personhood” as beginning at the moment “when the sperm and the ovum touch to form a unique human being.”
Such an amendment would outlaw not only all abortions but also artificial insemination and some forms of birth control. If passed, it would mean expensive legal costs for the state.

Sometimes the point of an initiative petition isn’t necessarily passage but keeping an issue in front of the public, said Richard Reuben, who teaches election law and other subjects at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

“So much of this is about keeping the base engaged and motivated,” he said.
The lively exercise of democracy outweighs the faults of the initiative petition process. But the volume of proposals this year calls for vigilance on the part of voters. A little bit of research before providing a signature is a good idea.

A good question to ask is whether the petition proposes a realistic solution to an actual problem.

One initiative cleared for signatures would replace the state’s non-partisan method of appointing statewide judges with partisan elections. But Missouri’s courts work well, and partisan elections would place judges in the undesirable position of raising money for campaigns.

It’s good to have a petition process to fix problems. But if something’s not broken, don’t lend a signature to a “fix” that will create new problems.