JEFFERSON CITY — A multimillion-dollar effort underway to convince Missouri voters to change how the state conducts elections is being bankrolled primarily by a wealthy Texas couple.
On March 9, a Virginia-based group connected with John and Laura Arnold contributed $800,000 to the political action committee raising money to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would bring ranked choice voting to Missouri.
That brings the Arnold-connected financial input to over $3 million at a time when Republicans are trying to make it harder to use the initiative petition process to change the state Constitution.
As a not-for-profit, the group known as Article IV, does not have to disclose its donors.
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But, corporate records show officers and directors at Article IV have strong ties to the philanthropic couple, who have funded similar voting change efforts in other states.
Sam Mar, for example, is secretary of Article IV. He oversees communications and external affairs for Arnold Ventures and previously was CEO of Action Now Initiative, a political advocacy organization founded by the Arnolds.
Another Article IV director is Seth London, who also is a consultant to Arnold Ventures. He was an aide to former President Barack Obama.
Tripp Wellde also is listed as a director. He served as a campaign aide for Obama, as well as an aide to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
The group’s treasurer, Cabell Hobbs, is also the treasurer for several other Republican PACs, including one affiliated with former White House national security adviser John Bolton. Hobbs also worked for a super PAC that tried to recruit former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to run for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire.
The group wants to get an initiative on the 2022 ballot that would abolish partisan primary elections and allow voters to rank their top four choices, regardless of party.
The top four vote-getters would advance to a general election, and voters would again rank their top four choices or just vote for their top pick.
Supporters say the change would replace the practice of voting for a preferred candidate with voting for a candidate who has a more likely chance of overcoming their least-favorite candidate.
Critics say it could confuse voters and depress voting.
In 2021, identified 261 jurisdictions in the U.S. — ranging from the state of California to a Texas school district — that have adopted some voting method other than the standard single-winner, plurality system most American voters know.
Pew researchers found that 45 places have adopted alternative voting systems in the past five years.
University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ political scientist David Kimball said the jury is still out on how ranked choice voting will work at a statewide level because most of the jurisdictions that use it are cities, where the elections are nonpartisan.
“It does appear that it encourages more people to run, particularly nontraditional candidates,†Kimball said. “It’s not clear whether it will reduce polarization.â€
In theory, it could create a less negative campaign environment by encouraging candidates to say nice things about their opponents.
But, he said, “I don’t think we have a good enough track record to know how it is going to work on a statewide level.â€
A spokesman for the Missouri initiative did not specifically address the Arnold connection when asked by the Post-Dispatch.
“Our elections are toxic and broken, and voters from every county in Missouri who are signing the Better Election petition tell us they support our positive proposal for change,†said campaign spokesman . “Our campaign is on the side of Missouri voters and giving them more choices and more ballot security in elections.â€
Missouri ties
Missouri isn’t . They’ve also helped push the effort in Maine and Alaska.
And the Arnolds aren’t strangers to Missouri’s political landscape. Money tied to them went to help pass an overhaul of ethics regulations and voting laws called “Clean Missouri.â€
Arnold Ventures was cited as a possible source of funding for an aerial surveillance program that was considered, and then abandoned, by the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Board of Aldermen early last year.
Arnold Ventures also employs two lobbyists in Missouri — Amy Blunt and Jay Reichard.
The push by Democrat-leaning groups to use Missouri’s ballot initiative process to effect change in the state is a reflection of the state’s strongly Republican majorities, who control the flow of legislation in the General Assembly.
Issues that aren’t addressed in the House or the Senate often become the subject of ballot questions, including issues like the minimum wage, Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana.
The presence of large amounts of out-of-state money in Missouri’s ballot initiative process has generated a number of Republican-sponsored bills in the Legislature this year designed to make it harder to use that route when seeking to alter state laws.
For example, a proposal sponsored by Rep. , R-Maysville, would raise the bar for passage of constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority.
In addition, signatures needed to place a question on the ballot would have to come from all eight Missouri congressional districts, as opposed to the six currently required.
also institutes a process for the General Assembly to vet proposed amendments by conducting hearings and potentially recommending changes.
Meantime, with the Arnolds’ money pipeline open, the ranked-choice voting effort has brought together an unlikely coalition of consultants from both sides of the partisan aisle, including John Hancock, a former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, and , a Democratic consultant whose clients include ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.
Others on the payroll, according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, include longtime Republican operative David Barklage and , a Democratic political consulting firm.
Outside money aside, the PAC handling the spending on consultants and petition collectors says the end game will come down to voters in the state.
“Missouri voters’ signatures will put the Better Elections Amendment on the ballot, and Missourians will have the final say at the polls,†Charton said.
Originally posted at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20.