JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Come November 7, Missouri voters may get their chance to approve or strike down a cigarette excise tax plan, report the Jefferson City Star.

On Monday, Cole County Circuit Judge Tom Brown found that the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners “hurried” through the signature verifying process and “did not follow their normal election procedures,” which led to his ruling that a proposal to boost the state’s cigarette excise tax from 17 cents per pack to 97 cents per pack must appear on the November 7 ballot, notes the newspaper.

The judge’s ruling reverses a previous decision by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan to disqualify the proposal.

Meanwhile, those opposed to the cigarette excise tax increase, including the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (MPCA), have “vowed to appeal” the ruling. A spokeswoman for Carnahan told the newspaper that the deadline to get the appeal issue on the November 7 ballot is Sept. 26.

The newspaper writes that in 2002, Missourians “narrowly rejected” a proposal to boost the cigarette excise tax to 55 cents per pack. At 17 cents per pack, Missouri has the second-lowest cigarette excise tax in the United States.

MPCA Executive Director Ronald Leone has previously referred to the proposed 470 percent cigarette tax increase as “outrageous.”