For local St. Charles County candidate & ballot information: St. Charles County Election Information
To locate a sample ballot for any Missouri county go to Missouri Center For Voting Rights and fill in the information, the next page will give your voter information and a link to your county's sample ballot.
For St. Louis and surrounding areas: St. Louis Metrovoice
To view Missouri state ballot measures only: State Ballot Measures
If you want to view the bios of Missouri judges and the governors who appointed them. Missouri Blue Book
The following links will give you information for Federal-office candidates: American Family Association; Voter Scorecards; Missouri Election Resources; Missouri Family Policy Council
Proposition B—Revisited
The Capitol Report from last week generated a great deal of interest and a few more questions, so I will continue to examine the issue further. It is not my mission to change anyone's mind, but to help you understand the complexities of the issues you will read on your ballot. There are unintended consequences and legal gyrations behind every ballot measure issue.I am a conservative. My regular readers are aware of this. My decisions that guide how I vote are based upon one significant question: "Will it grow government bigger or will it shrink government?" Government is already obese; short of a complete collapse, it could never become too small in our lifetime. From the very beginning, it was never too small. Our government started out about the right size and has incrementally enlarged until it is now engorged. Every time government grows bigger it costs more money, so to vote for bigger government is to vote against the taxpayers. The official ballot information from the Missouri Secretary of State's Office estimates that state government entities would incur costs of $654,768.
The theory behind the push for Prop B is similar to the logic used by anti-gun lobbyists. They think that more laws will prevent people from using guns inappropriately. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. If we pass more laws about guns, it will not stop people from using guns to commit crimes. The good breeders already take great care of their dogs. The conservative position is that the free market will self-correct.
Whether you vote for or against this proposition will depend on whether the question for you is:
"Does Missouri have inadequate laws pertaining to dog breeding?"
Or
"Does our government need more laws to control and limit the size legitimate businesses can grow?"
I certainly wouldn't want our government to regulate how many books I can sell in my bookstore, what kind of shelving I must have and make me into a criminal guilty of a misdemeanor if my inventory is not properly displayed dusted.
For additional views on the issue, link to these websites: Veterinary Association, Against Prop B, Beware of Prop B, Thinking Through Prop B
Constitutional Amendment #2 – Tax Exemption for Former Prisoners of War Who are also Disabled
This is designed to put a provision into our state constitution that will allow those who served and were captured as prisoners of war and also disabled to be exempt from having to pay real estate taxes.
Those who vote for this are voting to financially benefit a small percentage of veterans who they consider worthy of special honor translated into an economic benefit. Those who vote against this will be voting against setting a precedence allowing special interest groups to be exempt from paying taxes like everyone else.
Whether you vote yes or no will depend on if you think the question is:
"Do you want to give tax breaks to special people?"
Or
"Do you want to give one group of people a special tax abatement for which need is not tested?"
Official Ballot Title:
Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to require that all real property used as a homestead by Missouri citizens who are former prisoners of war and have a total service-connected disability be exempt from property taxes?
The number of qualified former prisoners of war and the amount of each exemption are unknown, however, because the number who meet the qualifications is expected to be small, the cost to local governmental entities should be minimal. Revenue to the state blind pension fund may be reduced by $1,200.
Fair Ballot Language:
A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to exempt from property taxes all real property used as a homestead by any Missouri citizen who is a former prisoner of war with a total service-connected disability.
A "no" vote will not add this exemption to the Missouri Constitution.
If passed, this measure will decrease property taxes for qualified citizens.
Constitutional Amendment #3 – No New Taxes
This one is being promoted by the Real Estate industry because they want to assure that home sales will never be taxed. Those who vote for this will be voting to make sure there will never be any additional taxes to home sales. While this may seem like an easy decision for conservatives, there is another side. Those who vote against this are doing so for two reasons. Those on the left view the sale of homes to be an opportunity to take advantage of more fund generation for governments. Those on the right view this as the enemy of the fair tax. The Fair Tax is premised upon the idea that everybody ought to be taxed broadly so that the tax level is lower for all rather than a few.
Missouri Representative Ed Emery recommends a "NO" vote because,
"It combines a legitimate attempt to stop the incessant attempts of state government to raise taxes by calling them "fees" with what I see as a stealth attempt to thwart The Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act (formerly the Missouri Fair Tax) by exempting 4% of real estate transactions. Approximately 96% of those transactions are of used homes and would not be subject to a first-use sales tax. If you favor elimination of the Missouri income tax as proposed by SJR 29 in 2010, then you will not be in favor of Amendment 3. If passed, Amendment 3 will result in a higher tax rate to replace the income tax and will also begin the relentless parade of special interests demanding exemptions from the broadened tax base that represents a key element of the Fair Tax model. I hope we are not too late to inform the electorate and defeat this special-interest sponsored amendment."
Official Ballot Title:Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate?
It is estimated this proposal will have no costs or savings to state or local governmental entities.
Fair Ballot Language:
A "yes" vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate.
A "no" vote will not change the Missouri Constitution to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing a new tax on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
Your thoughts are important to me, so please let me know what you think about the ballot issues. You can send me your opinion by clicking here: Cynthia Davis
A Little Bit of Humor
Two politicians had locked themselves out of their rented car, and unfortunately some important papers they needed for a meeting were inside. "Let's use a coat hanger to pull up the lock," suggested the first.
"Oh, no," argued the second. "Someone might see us and think we were trying to break in."
"Then we could use my pocketknife to cut away the rubber around the window and stick our fingers through to pull up the lock."
"No, no! People would think we're too stupid to know how to use a coat hanger to open cars."
"Well, we'd better do something fast. The top's down and it's starting to rain!"
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