Title: Missouri State Conference of National Association for Advancement of Colored People v. State

State: missouri

Issuer: Missouri Supreme Court

Document:

SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI 
en banc 
MISSOURI STATE CONFERENCE 
       )    Opinion issued June 23, 2020 
of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION        
   ) 
for the ADVANCEMENT of 
   ) 
COLORED PEOPLE, et al., 
   ) 
   ) 
Appellants, 
   ) 
 ) 
v. 
   )    No. SC98536 
   ) 
STATE of MISSOURI, et al., 
   ) 
   ) 
Respondents. 
   ) 
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COLE COUNTY 
The Honorable Jon E. Beetem, Judge 
PER CURIAM 
The Missouri State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People, the League of Women Voters of Missouri, Javier A. Del Villar, Kamisha 
D. Webb, and Cecil E. Wattree (“petitioners”) appeal the circuit court’s dismissal of their
petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief for failure to state a claim upon 
which relief could be granted.  In four counts, petitioners sought injunctive and declaratory 
relief with respect to Missouri’s absentee voting statute, section 115.277.  Petitioners 
abandoned count II on appeal; therefore, the circuit court’s judgment with respect to count 
II is affirmed.  Counts I, III, and IV of the petition state claims upon which relief could be 
2 
 
granted; therefore, the circuit court’s judgment with respect to those counts is reversed, and 
the cause is remanded. 
Factual and Procedural Background 
Prior to the signing of SB 631 on June 4, 2020, Missouri had no vote-by-mail system 
available to all registered voters.  Missouri’s only mechanism for non-in-person voting was 
the absentee voting procedure set out in section 115.277, but that procedure was available 
to only a subset of registered voters.  Only those registered voters with the circumstances 
set forth in section 115.277.1(1)-(6) could vote absentee.  And, under the provisions in 
section 115.277, most registered voters with one of the enumerated circumstances would 
have needed to have their absentee ballots acknowledged in person before returning them 
by mail.  All other voters had to physically appear at their designated polling places on an 
election day to vote.   
In response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) 
pandemic and the upcoming August primary and November general elections, on April 17, 
2020, petitioners filed a four-count petition for injunctive and declaratory relief in the Cole 
County circuit court.  Due to the transmissibility of COVID-19 through person-to-person 
contact, petitioners sought injunctive and declaratory relief to secure the ability to exercise 
their constitutional right to vote – but to do so without leaving their homes to reduce the 
risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 during the process.1  
                                              
1 Petitioners’ petition also alleged bilateral class resolution of this case was appropriate, 
proposing both plaintiff and defendant classes.  Dismissal of these claims has not been 
raised on appeal.  
3 
 
Petitioners’ count I sought a declaration that the authorization in section 
115.277.1(2), which permits any registered Missouri voter to vote absentee without 
notarization if they are unable to vote in person due to confinement due to illness or 
disability, applies to persons who are confining themselves at home due to COVID-19.2  
Count II sought a declaration that the inconsistent interpretation of section 115.277.1(2) by 
local election authorities regarding whether it authorizes such voters to vote absentee by 
mail without notarizing their ballots violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Missouri 
Constitution.3  Count III sought a declaration that allowing some, but not all, voters to vote 
absentee by mail violates the right to vote provided by the Missouri Constitution.4   
Finally, count IV sought a declaration that, in the same situation, allowing some 
voters to vote absentee by mail without notarization but requiring others to obtain in-person 
notarization imposes costs of obtaining notarization that other voters need not face and 
violates the right to vote provided by the Missouri Constitution.5  Petitioners’ objective 
under Count IV was to secure for all registered Missouri voters the ability to vote by mail 
                                              
2 In count I, petitioners sought injunctive relief in two respects.  First, they sought to enjoin 
enforcement of section 115.277.1(2) to the extent it would prohibit, punish, or discourage 
persons who are confining themselves to vote from home to avoid contracting or spreading 
COVID-19 from casting an absentee ballot without notarization.  Second, petitioners 
sought to enjoin all Missouri local election authorities from refusing to accept absentee 
ballots without notarization cast pursuant to this provision. 
3 In count II, petitioners also sought to enjoin interpretation, application, or enforcement of 
section 115.277.2(2) in a manner that deprives any voter of the opportunity to vote absentee 
by mail when they would be permitted to vote absentee by mail if they resided elsewhere 
in the state. 
4 In count III, petitioners also sought to enjoin the state and anyone acting in concert with 
the state from limiting the availability of absentee voting. 
5 In count IV, petitioners also sought to enjoin the state and anyone acting in concert with 
the state from limiting the availability of absentee voting without notarization.   
4 
 
without the risks of contracting and spreading COVID-19 through the notarization or in-
person voting process and without the costs, including time and transportation, required to 
obtain in-person notarization of a mail-in or absentee ballot.  On appeal, petitioners have 
clarified they seek the requested relief only for the August 2020 primary and November 
2020 general elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
The state did not file an answer to the petition.  Rather, on May 5, 2020, the state 
filed a motion to dismiss the petition under Rule 55.27(a)(6), claiming petitioners had failed 
to state any claims upon which relief could be granted.  The circuit court took up the motion 
and, after concluding petitioners were not entitled to the declarations (and related relief) 
they sought, sustained the motion to dismiss as to all counts on May 18, 2020.6  Petitioners 
appeal the dismissal of Counts I, III, and IV, but have abandoned their claim in Count II.  
This Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction owing to the constitutional challenges to 
section 115.277 in Counts III and IV.  Mo. Const. art. V, § 3.7   
Recent Developments 
Before turning to the merits of petitioners’ appeal, this Court must outline important 
developments:  the passage and signing into law of Senate Bill No. 631 and the passage of 
House Bill No. 1655.  On May 15, 2020, the legislature truly agreed and finally passed SB 
631 with an emergency clause providing the bill would become effective immediately 
                                              
6 In doing so, the circuit court also found petitioners’ class allegations were legally deficient 
and the institutional petitioners lacked standing.   
7 Nor do petitioners appeal the circuit court’s denial of class certification.  Petitioners do 
appeal the circuit court’s finding that the institutional petitioners lacked standing; however, 
for the reasons set forth below, petitioners state a claim, it is unnecessary for this Court to 
address that issue. 
5 
 
“upon its passage and approval.”  SB 631, 100th Gen. Assemb., § B (2020).  SB 631 repeals 
and replaces section 115.277, providing for expanded absentee and mail-in voting for the 
remaining 2020 elections.  SB 631 reenacts section 115.277 with language identical to that 
of the former statute, except it adds new sections 115.277.1(7) and 115.277.6 pertaining to 
elections held during 2020.   
Specifically, for the remainder of 2020, section 115.277.1(7) authorizes any voter 
who has “contracted or is in an at-risk category for contracting” COVID-19 to vote by 
absentee ballot.  At-risk voters are defined in new section 115.277.6 as: 
For purposes of this section, the voters who are in an at-risk category for 
contracting or transmitting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 
are voters who: (1) Are sixty-five years of age or older; (2) Live in a long-
term care facility licensed under chapter 198; (3) Have chronic lung disease 
or moderate to severe asthma; (4) Have serious heart conditions; (5) Are 
immunocompromised; (6) Have diabetes; (7) Have chronic kidney disease 
and are undergoing dialysis; or (8) Have liver disease.   
 
SB 631, 100th Gen. Assemb., § 115.277.6 (2020).  Such at-risk voters are authorized to 
vote absentee by mail in any election during 2020 without having their signatures on their 
ballot envelopes acknowledged8 by a notary or other official authorized by law to 
administer oaths.  Id. § 115.283.8; §115.291.1.   
SB 631, in newly adopted section 115.302.1, further authorizes all registered 
Missouri voters to cast a mail-in ballot in any election held in 2020, provided the ballot is 
                                              
8  “Acknowledge,” as used in this opinion, describes the act of a notary or other officer – 
authorized by law to administer oaths – of acknowledging that a person voting an absentee 
ballot or a mail-in-ballot subscribed and swore to the statement on the ballot envelope, as 
required by section 115.291.1 (for certain absentee ballots) and section 115.302 (for mail-
in-ballots).  
6 
acknowledged as provided in sections 115.302.11 and 115.291.1.  In other words, SB 631 
authorizes all registered voters to vote by mail with their signatures on the ballot envelopes 
so long as the signatures are acknowledged by a notary or other person authorized to 
administer oaths.  SB 631 further authorized a subset of at-risk registered voters, as that 
term is statutorily defined, to vote absentee by mail without such acknowledgement in the 
remaining 2020 elections.  SB 631 was delivered to the governor May 27, 2020, and signed 
into law June 4, 2020, becoming immediately effective on that day.  
The legislature also passed a separate bill, HB 1655, which authorizes many notarial 
acts to be done remotely, without the need to appear personally before the notary, with 
certain requirements and potential notary fees and costs.9  Section 442.145.1.  
The governor has not yet signed HB 1655 into law.  Because HB 1655 does not 
contain an emergency clause, if signed, it will not take effect until August 28, 2020.   The 
governor issued Executive Order 20-08 on April 6, 2020, and, since the circuit court’s 
decision in this matter, has extended that order to August 28, 2020.10  Pursuant to the 
9 Pursuant to section 486.1115 set out in HB 1655, a notary must utilize software approved 
by the Secretary of State for remote online notarial acts which would allow the notary to 
create an audio and video recording of the performance of a notarial act.  Under HB 1655, 
section 486.1195.2 would require those audio and video recordings to be maintained for at 
least ten years.  Although section 486.685.5 would prohibit a notary from charging a fee 
“for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot,” section 486.1160 contained in HB 
1655 would authorize a notary and a person requesting a notarial act to agree in advance 
for payment of “a remote online notary transaction fee . . .  [that] is separate from the 
notarial fee prescribed in subsection 2 of section 486.960,” which sets maximum fees that 
can be charged for performing many electronic notarial acts.  Thus, it is unclear what, if 
any, costs and fees may accompany a remote notary service. 
10 See Mo. Const. art. III, § 29 (providing, “No law passed by the general assembly, except 
an appropriation act, shall take effect until ninety days after the adjournment of the session 
7 
 
governor’s emergency authority under sections 44.100, RSMo Supp. 2009, and 44.110, 
RSMo 2000, Executive Order 20-08 suspends the requirement of personal appearance 
before a notary due to health concerns raised by COVID-19.  The order further authorizes 
notarizations to take place via “audio-video technology.”  Executive Order 20-08’s 
authorization of remote notarizations, therefore, will be effective during the absentee ballot 
period for the August 2020 primary election.  It has not been extended to include the 
November 2020 general election, although HB 1655, if signed, would be effective during 
the absentee and mail-in ballot period preceding the November 2020 general election. 
Standard of Review 
“This Court reviews a circuit court’s sustaining of a motion to dismiss de novo.”  
Mitchell v. Phillips, 596 S.W.3d 120, 122 (Mo. banc 2020).   
A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted 
is solely a test of the adequacy of the petition. When considering whether a 
petition fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, this Court 
must accept all properly pleaded facts as true, giving the pleadings their 
broadest intendment, and construe all allegations favorably to the pleader. 
 
Id. at 122-23. 
Petition States Claims for Relief 
A motion to dismiss does not permit the circuit court – or this Court on appeal – to 
determine the merits of a claim.  Instead, the proper inquiry on a motion to dismiss “is 
solely a test of the adequacy of the petition.”  Id. at 122.  In other words, the claimant 
                                              
. . . at which it was enacted”). 
 
8 
 
merely must allege facts sufficient to state a cognizable cause of action.  To state a claim 
for a declaratory judgment:  
[T]he court must be presented with: (1) a justiciable controversy that presents 
a real, substantial, presently-existing controversy admitting of specific relief, 
as distinguished from an advisory decree upon a purely hypothetical 
situation; (2) a plaintiff with a legally protectable interest at stake, . . . ; (3) a 
controversy ripe for judicial determination; and (4) an inadequate remedy at 
law. 
 
Mo. Soybean Ass’n v. Mo. Clean Water Comm’n, 102 S.W.3d 10, 25 (Mo. banc 2003).  
Absent from these elements is any suggestion that the party seeking a declaratory judgment 
fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if that party will not – on the merits 
– be entitled to the declaration sought.   
“The test of the sufficiency of a complaint for a declaratory judgment is not 
whether it shows that plaintiff is entitled to a declaration in accordance with 
his theory and contention, but whether he is entitled to a declaration of rights 
at all.  It follows that the complaint need not allege facts showing that 
plaintiff is entitled to a declaration in his favor, and a complaint which shows 
on its face that plaintiff is advancing an erroneous contention of law is not 
therefor insufficient.”   
 
We find no fault with that rule.  In this case, if plaintiffs, in their petition, 
have stated facts upon which a court could base a judgment adjudicating the 
questions plaintiffs seek to settle, then the petition should be declared to be 
sufficient. 
 
Transp. Mfg. & Equip. Co. v. Toberman, 301 S.W.2d 801, 805 (Mo. banc 1957) (quoting 
26 C.J.S. Declaratory Judgments § 136).  It simply cannot be stated any more clearly.   
Petitioners’ claims plainly meet the pleading requirements for any declaratory 
judgment cause of action and the largely similar requirements for actions seeking 
injunctive relief.  The petitioners present a real, substantial, and presently existing 
controversy regarding the interpretation of Missouri’s absentee voting statute.  The 
9 
 
petitioners seek to protect their right to vote guaranteed by the Missouri Constitution, and, 
given the upcoming August and November elections, their claims are ripe for judicial 
determination.  Aside from seeking declaratory judgment to determine their rights under 
Missouri’s absentee voting statute, the petitioners have no adequate remedy under the law.  
Therefore, the petition sufficiently states claims for declaratory judgment.   
The circuit court should have overruled the motion to dismiss and should not have 
undertaken any analysis of the merits of petitioners’ claims in ruling on that motion.  
Because the merits of the petition were not before the circuit court on the state’s motion to 
dismiss, the circuit court erred in entering a judgment on the merits.  Therefore, the circuit 
court’s judgment with respect to claims not abandoned on appeal must be reversed, and the 
cause remanded.   
On remand, the parties and the circuit court can address the significant changes in 
circumstances that have occurred after the petition was filed and the judgment dismissing 
the petition was entered, i.e., the Governor’s executive orders, the statutory changes in 
SB 631 that are now in effect, and the provisions of HB 1655, if signed by the Governor.  
Those changes may cause petitioners to abandon some original claims or seek leave of 
court to amend claims.   
Conclusion 
The circuit court’s judgment with respect to count II is affirmed.  The remaining 
portions of the judgment are reversed, and the cause is remanded. 
 
All concur.