Jonathan Shorman

News-Leader

Missouri voters will decide next week whether to give their electronic data greater protections from police searches. The choice comes just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled law enforcement needs warrants to look at information on cellphones.

Amendment 9 would amend the Missouri Constitution to add electronic communications and data to the list of things protected from unreasonable search and seizure.

Under the amendment, law enforcement will have to obtain a warrant to access electronic data or communication.

The ballot question has proved not as controversial as others that will appear before voters on Tuesday.

The Missouri House approved sending the measure to a statewide vote by 114-28, and the Senate approved it 31-1.

Supporters of the measure split the ideological spectrum and include the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri as well as former Republican state senator Jim Lembke, who has lobbied in the capital for the conservative United For Missouri group.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in June that police typically need a warrant to search cellphones.

Previously, police could search a person under arrest and whatever physical items are within reach to find weapons and preserve evidence that might be destroyed. But the justices noted that vast amounts of sensitive data on modern smartphones raise new privacy concerns that differentiate them from other items.

The Springfield Police Department changed its policy following the ruling. Officers had previously immediately searched phones in some cases.

Lembke said Missouri's Constitution still needs to be changed, however.

"This really extends it beyond cellphones to all electronic devices and data," Lembke said.

The ACLU, on its website, says the court's decision did not address government searches of electronic data that happen outside the context of an arrest.

"Americans shouldn't be forced to choose between using new technologies and protecting their privacy. Amendment 9 simply makes clear that just as the government must get a warrant to read people's postal mail, so, too, should it have to get a warrant to read people's email," the ACLU says on its site.

The Associated Press reported Monday that no organized opposition to the proposal had emerged, including among law enforcement and prosecutors. Rep. Charlie Norr, D-Springfield, was the only area lawmaker to vote against the measure. Efforts to contact Norr Monday were not successful.

Asked if he believed the constitutional change would hamper law enforcement, Lembke made clear that personal liberty should take precedent.

"You always want to err on the side of freedom and liberty. I'd rather put the burden on law enforcement than on the individual," Lembke said.

On the Tuesday ballot

The following constitutional amendments will go before voters on Tuesday. The summaries below are taken from the official ballot titles.

Amendment 1

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure that the right of Missouri citizens to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices shall not be infringed?

The potential costs or savings to governmental entities are unknown, but likely limited unless the resolution leads to increased litigation costs and/or the loss of federal funding.

Amendment 5

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is a unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right?

State and local governmental entities should have no direct costs or savings from this proposal. However, the proposal's passage will likely lead to increased litigation and criminal justice related costs. The total potential costs are unknown, but could be significant.

Amendment 7

Should the Missouri Constitution be changed to enact a temporary sales tax of three-quarters of one percent to be used solely to fund state and local highways, roads, bridges and transportation projects for ten years, with priority given to repairing unsafe roads and bridges?

This change is expected to produce $480 million annually to the state's Transportation Safety and Job Creation Fund and $54 million for local governments. Increases in the gas tax will be prohibited. This revenue shall only be used for transportation purposes and cannot be diverted for other uses.

Amendment 8

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to create a "Veterans Lottery Ticket" and to use the revenue from the sale of these tickets for projects and services related to veterans?

The annual cost or savings to state and local governmental entities is unknown, but likely minimal. If sales of a veterans lottery ticket game decrease existing lottery ticket sales, the profits of which fund education, there could be a small annual shift in funding from education to veterans' programs.

Amendment 9

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that the people shall be secure in their electronic communications and data from unreasonable searches and seizures as they are now likewise secure in their persons, homes, papers and effects?

State and local governmental entities expect no significant costs or savings.