Amendment 6: Respect Missouri Voters

Missourians have had the constitutional right to use the initiative petition process for more than a century. It gives ordinary citizens a way to take an issue directly to the voters when Jefferson City fails to act. Amendment 6 protects that right and, just as importantly, protects the decisions we make at the ballot box.

Under Amendment 6, the legislature could no longer simply change or repeal a law that Missouri voters enacted through the initiative process. If lawmakers wanted to modify one of those voter-approved laws, at least 80% of both the Missouri House and Senate would have to agree to send the proposed change back to the voters. The final decision would belong where I believe it belongs: with the people of Missouri.

Amendment 6 also protects the initiative and referendum process itself and calls for ballot summaries that are clear, fair, accurate and understandable. It preserves our existing signature requirements and, importantly, preserves the principle that a simple statewide majority can approve an initiative. It doesn't make it easier to pass an initiative. It makes it harder for politicians to undo the decision afterward.

I believe elections should mean something. When Missourians do the work to put an issue on the ballot and a majority of voters approve it, elected officials should respect that decision, whether they personally agree with it or not. This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. It's about who has the final say in our state government. On Amendment 6, I support putting that power in the hands of Missouri voters. I will be voting YES.