Missourians can track right-to-farm recount effort

There will be a statewide recount of Constitutional Amendment 1, known as right-to-farm, and Missourians will have the opportunity to stay updated on the process.

Secretary of State Jason Kander announced Tuesday the request for a recount of the amendment that appeared on the Aug. 5 primary election ballot.

His office has created a Web page to make the recount process more transparent and accessible to Missourians, says a news release from Kander. The page will be updated daily at 3 p.m. to show the recount schedule established by the local election authorities, each local election authority's report of findings and a summary of recount results.

Missourians can visit the page at sos.mo.gov/elections/Amendment1.

Kander's office also will train a team of staff members who can be dispatched throughout the state if assistance is requested. Per state law, the recount will be supervised and certified by the secretary of state's office no later than Sept. 15.

Recounts are not automatically triggered, but must be requested by a registered voter whose position on the ballot question was defeated, according to state law (RSMo 115.601).

Statewide races are only eligible for a recount when results are separated by less than one half of 1 percent of total votes cast. Of 996,672 votes cast on Amendment 1, there were 499,581 "yes" votes and 497,091 "no" votes, with a difference of 0.24 percent.

The recount was requested by Wes Shoemyer on behalf of Missouri's Food for America. The right-to-farm amendment will be represented by Dan Kleinsorge on behalf of Missouri Farmers Care.

Local election authorities will determine the date and time for recounts in their respective counties, and a bipartisan team of election judges will conduct it.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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