Missouri Voters Reject Higher Bar for Constitutional Amendments

Why it matters locally: The rejection of Amendment 1 means the process for amending the Missouri Constitution will remain a simple statewide majority vote, preserving the current level of direct democracy through citizen-initiated ballot measures.

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Missouri voters have rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have increased the threshold for future amendments to pass. The measure, known as Constitutional Amendment 1, failed in Tuesday's election. The proposal would have required a two-thirds majority vote in both the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Senate districts, in addition to a simple statewide majority, for any constitutional amendment to be adopted. Currently, amendments pass with a simple majority statewide vote. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, supported the measure. He stated that the state's constitution represents "the supreme law of the state." Ashcroft previously indicated a desire to protect the document from changes he characterized as potentially undermining its structure. Opponents of Amendment 1 argued that the changes would have made it significantly harder for citizens to bypass the state legislature through direct ballot initiatives. Critics expressed concerns that the proposal aimed to diminish the power of direct democracy in the state. In recent years, Missouri voters have approved several ballot measures initiated by citizens. These include initiatives related to abortion access, healthcare expansion, and increases to the state's minimum wage. These measures passed despite the state's Republican-dominated legislature. Lawmakers placed Amendment 1 on the ballot after the state Supreme Court ruled against a previous attempt to implement a similar two-thirds requirement. The court found that the earlier proposal, tied to funding for specific social programs, violated the state's single-subject rule for ballot measures. The defeat of Amendment 1 means the process for amending the Missouri Constitution remains unchanged. Future amendments will continue to require a simple majority vote statewide.