Missouri constitution
Article IV: executive department
Section 18

The returns of every election
for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and
attorney general shall be sealed and transmitted by the returning officers to the secretary
of state, who shall appoint two disinterested judges of a court of record of the
state, and the three shall constitute a board of state canvassers. The board shall meet at
the state capitol on, or at the call of the secretary of state before, the second Tuesday
of December next after the election and forthwith open and canvass the returns of the
votes cast and from the face thereof ascertain and proclaim the result of the election.
The persons having the highest number of votes for the respective offices shall be
declared elected, and if two or more persons have an equal and the highest number of
votes for the same office, at its next regular session the general assembly, by joint vote
and without delay, shall choose one of such persons for the office.