Supreme Court Ruling Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

A State Supreme Court ruling places the same-sex marriage question on the August ballot, but leaves some questions in its wake. The Supreme Court rules the Secretary of State has a duty to place the issue on the August ballot even though it concedes he didn’t receive the official resolution by the deadline to place issues on the primary ballot. Secretary of State spokesman Spence Jackson says the office is worried about the effect the ruling has on state that notice must be given local election authorities by the tenth Tuesday prior to an election. Attorney General Jay Nixon dismisses such concern, saying ballots have been changed before between the 10 week and the six week period. Nixon says the ruling upholds the Governor’s authority to set a special election date, especially in cases in which the legislature has approved a resolution that doesn’t require his signature and gives him a choice on when to decide the issue. The resolution asks Missourians to decide whether the state constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman.