SB 757 - This act provides that beginning January 1, 2010, all circuit, associate circuit, and appellate judgeships in this state shall be nonpartisan offices, and no such judge shall be identified by political party. Currently, except in jurisdictions that have adopted the provisions of Sections 25(a) to (g) Article V of the Constitution of Missouri, elections for circuit and associate circuit judges are held on the general election date. This act provides that beginning January 1, 2010, elections for such judges shall be held on the primary election date. The names of each judicial candidate shall be included on all ballots in said election, including each political party's primary ballots, but shall be designated as "nonpartisan."
In any primary election at which no judicial candidate receives a majority vote, the two candidates receiving the highest and next highest number of votes shall be certified to a runoff election, which shall be held at the next general election. Such candidates will also be designated as "nonpartisan" on general election ballots.
The filing period for judicial candidates shall begin at 8:00 a.m. on the last Tuesday in February and shall end at 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in March.
Judicial candidates subject to the provisions of this act shall be nonpartisan and shall not be affiliated, either directly or indirectly, with any political party. Judicial candidates shall not participate in any of the political activities enumerated in this act, or shall be subject to sanction as determined by the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The Missouri Ethics Commission shall have the same powers to receive complaints and investigate alleged violations of the provisions of this act as it does under current law for other allegations of misconduct, and shall have the duty to promulgate rules regarding such violations.
ALEXA PEARSON