The process of approving proposed amendments to Missouri’s constitution brought through the initiative petition process will remain the same.
Voters soundly rejected Amendment 4 on Tuesday, with the no votes polling 81.7% when the race was called at 8:23 p.m.
The failure of Amendment 4 means future proposed constitutional amendments brought by the public will still need a simple majority of a statewide vote to pass.
That’s less difficult to achieve than the process under Amendment 4, which would have required the same amendments to pass in all eight of Missouri’s congressional districts.
In a statement after Amendment 4 failed, Gov. Mike Kehoe said he would continue to fight for election integrity, transparency and “a system that does not allow our Constitution to be up for sale.”
“I called the Missouri General Assembly into a special session last year to address initiative petition reform, and they delivered a common sense solution centered on transparency, integrity, and protecting our state's Constitution,” Kehoe said.
House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said the results show how out of touch Republicans are over the initiative petition process.
“Voters like having access to the ballot. They especially like it when the Republican-led legislature isn't listening to them. It's why we had to legalize marijuana on the ballot. It's why we had to enshrine abortion rights in our constitution on the ballot. It's why we had to expand Medicaid on the ballot,” Aune said. “These are all things that voters were asking their Republican-led legislature to make progress on, and they weren't doing it.”
Missourians have used the initiative petition process to pass several constitutional amendments over the years. They include measures to expand Medicaid, legalize medical and recreational marijuana and overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban.
Republican lawmakers for years have attempted to make it harder to amend the constitution, saying it gives too much power to out-of-state interests to change policies in Missouri. For several sessions, many called it their No. 1 priority.
However, disagreements on what changes to the initiative petition process should be, along with stalwart opposition from Democrats, hurt its chances. Ideas included raising the signature threshold or increasing the overall required voting percentage.
It took until a special session in 2025 for Republican lawmakers to pass the resolution that became Amendment 4. This version was much more restrictive than those prior attempts.
Amendment 4’s requirements would have only been applicable to proposed amendments brought by Missouri citizens. Proposed constitutional amendments passed by the state legislature and put on the ballot would have only required a simple majority to pass.
Supporters of Amendment 4 said its passage would have given rural voters a stronger voice. They also said that the current initiative petition process is beholden to out-of-state special interest groups that spend money to influence Missouri politics.
Kehoe referenced that in his statement.
“Unfortunately, special interests succeeded in keeping our Constitution vulnerable with the defeat of Amendment 4,” Kehoe said.
Opponents said the changes would have effectively killed the initiative petition process for proposed constitutional amendments and ended majority rule.
M’Evie Mead with Protect Majority Rule said a reason the amendment was defeated so soundly was that it wasn't in the interest of just one party.
“We knew right away this was an issue that applied across the political spectrum, and people were concerned about giving up their power, and they were ready to say no to this power grab of Missouri politicians and their special interests,” Mead said.
Mead called Kehoe’s words on special interests a false statement and insulting to voters.
“He is implying that they don't know what they want, and the voters clearly stated what they want,” Mead said. “As many tricks as the folks in favor of this effort put in front of voters, they batted them down and they voted the way to protect their power.”
Kate Catanio, a volunteer with Respect Missouri Voters, said voters sent a clear message by rejecting Amendment 4.
“We deserve a fair process and the freedom to make decisions without political interference,” Catanio said.
The new requirements would not have applied to proposed statutory changes brought by the public. But lawmakers have an easier path to overturn statutory changes compared to constitutional amendments.
While changing the constitution needs another vote of the public, overturning a statute change just requires passing a new law.
In 2025, Missouri Republicans overturned a statute change approved by almost 58% of Missouri voters in 2024 that implemented a paid sick leave policy.
If passed, Amendment 4 also would have placed within the Missouri Constitution language on foreign spending and petition fraud.
It also would have required the full text of any statewide ballot measure proposed by the initiative petition process to be available to each voter with their ballots.
