By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – Missouri's highest election official does not have to get a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage on the state's August primary ballot.
That was the ruling Monday in Kansas City from the Missouri Court of Appeals.
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court.
It's a victory for Republicans who want the issue on the November presidential election ballot. They believe more conservatives will go to the polls then.
A three-judge panel of the Western District appellate court in Kansas City rejected the request from Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon to force Secretary of State Matt Blunt to meet Tuesday's deadline for putting the amendment on the August third ballot.