Group pushing anti-affirmative action amendment sues Carnahan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Backers of an anti-affirmative action measure that would end race and gender preferences in state contracting have filed a lawsuit against the secretary of state over the language that would appear on the ballot.

Missouri Civil Rights Initiative, a group that is undertaking a petition drive to get the proposed constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot, filed the suit in Cole County Circuit Court on Thursday. The group needs at least 139,181 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

Its executive director, Tim Asher, said the ballot title Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office approved for the petition is slanted against the measure. The ballot title is the short description of a measure that appears on the ballot.

"The ballot language is supposed to be true and impartial and neither intentionally argumentative nor likely to create prejudice," Asher told The Kansas City Star for a story in Saturday's editions. "Certainly ... it seems to (create prejudice)."

Carrie Bebemeyer, a spokeswoman for Carnahan, said the ballot language is neutral, although she would not comment on the specific wording.

"Our office is confident that the language we wrote on the initiative is fair, impartial and complies with the law," she said.

The language Asher's group suggested was:

"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prohibit any form of discrimination as an act of the state by declaring:

"The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting?"

Carnahan's office approved the following language:

"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

"Ban affirmative action programs designed to eliminate discrimination against, and improve opportunities for, women and minorities in public contracting, employment and education; and

"Allow preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin to meet federal program funds eligibility standards as well as preferential treatment for bona fide qualifications based on sex?"

Similar measures have been approved in Michigan, Washington and California, and backers are trying to put the issue on the ballot in Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona.

Carnahan has won previous challenges over ballot language for petitions in 2006 that dealt with stem cells, government taking of private land and state spending limitations.