Recall effort fails to turn in petition signatures on time

It appears that the recall petition against the six members of the Joplin City Council who voted for the COVID-19 mask mandate has failed.

The group collecting petitions failed to submit 610 signatures of registered voters in Joplin before the deadline that would have enabled the measure to be put on the April 6 election ballot.

“All six of them have broken their oath to the United States Constitution and the Missouri Constitution to uphold and defend our rights,” Abbie Covington, one of the leaders of the efforts, has said.

Covington reportedly said the delay in getting the signatures is intentional to allow for more discussion of the issue.