Tags
Amendment 4, campaign finance, General Assembly, governor, HJR 3, initiative petition, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, Protect Majority Rule Missouri
At the Missouri Ethics Commission, in opposition to the restrictive requirements on initiative petitions required by Amendment 4 (HJR 3) on the August ballot:
C253757 06/03/2026 Protect Majority Rule Missouri Health Forward Foundation 2300 Main St, Ste. 301 Kansas City MO 64108 6/1/2026 $300,000.00
[emphasis added]
Protect Majority Rule Missouri – Active
MECID: C253757 Committee Type: Campaign
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Supported/Opposed Ballot Measure
Measure Election Date Subject Political Subdivision Support/Oppose
Amendment 4 11/3/2026 Changes to the initiaitve [sic] petition process Statewide Oppose
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Because:
Governor Kehoe Places Four Constitutional Amendments on August Primary Election Ballot
May 22, 2026[….]
….Amendment 4 – if approved by voters, modifies current requirements that a simple statewide majority of voters may approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution, requires a majority of voters in each congressional district to approve initiative petitions to amend the constitution….
It’s in that detail.
Vote NO on Missouri Amendments 4, 5 this August
Posted on June 4, 2026By SHERI GASSAWAY
Missouri CorrespondentMissouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has scheduled a vote on two amendments this August that would be detrimental to the state’s working families, the poor and democracy as a whole.
Amendment 5 would give lawmakers new power to expand sales and use taxes to replace the state’s 4.7 percent income tax, and Amendment 4 would create a higher bar for passage of citizen-led constitutional amendments. The measures will appear on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.
THE MISSOURI AFL-CIO is recommending a “NO” vote on Amendments 4 and 5 on the Aug. 4 ballot. Amendment 5 would grant lawmakers new power to expand sales and use taxes to replace the state’s 4.7 percent income tax, and Amendment 4 would make it more difficult to pass citizen-led constitutional amendments.
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Amendment 4 would require any constitutional amendment placed on the ballot through the citizen-led initiative petition process to pass in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts. Currently, those amendments need only a statewide majority pass.
“We would in effect, be giving one district veto power over another district,” Hummel said.
The initiative petition process allows citizens to bypass the legislature and propose constitutional amendments directly to voters. It has been used recently to increase the minimum wage and approve paid sick leave, legalize recreational marijuana and to protect abortion rights.
In the last year, the Republican-controlled legislature has overturned the voter-approved paid sick leave initiative and repealed a voter-approved 2024 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. Efforts are also underway to weaken the state’s newly passed minimum wage laws.
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“…We would in effect, be giving one district veto power over another district…” Or the majority of the citizens of the state.
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What Is Amendment 4?
Amendment 4 is a measure on Missouri’s August 4, 2026 ballot that would change the rules for citizen-led initiative petitions — the process Missourians have used since 1908 to put laws and constitutional amendments directly on the ballot. Today, those measures pass with a simple statewide majority. Amendment 4 would require a statewide majority plus a majority in EVERY Missouri congressional district.The catch: politicians exempted themselves. Measures the legislature refers to the ballot still pass with a simple majority. Only initiatives that come from citizens face the higher bar.
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Who Put This On The Ballot?
Politicians, not citizens.
Amendment 4 was referred to the ballot by the Missouri General Assembly. It was not the product of a grassroots petition. The same body that wrote it then exempted itself from its rules — meaning politicians can still pass referred amendments with a simple majority, while citizen-led initiatives must clear the higher bar. That’s not reform. That’s rigging.
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No on Amendment 4.
