Missouri’s ballot this November includes multiple initiative measures and state offices open for voting.
One proposed amendment could impact how many measures make it on future ballots as it seeks to make it harder for citizen-led initiatives to be overturned by legislators.
The proposal, Amendment 6, has brought to light a series of questions that expose the difference between what legislators think voters want in the government and what voters appear to actually want.
How exactly did Missouri get to the point of needing Amendment 6? And why do Missourians seek to assert power through citizen-led initiatives rather than their legislative representatives?
A growing disconnect
The disconnect between legislators and voters has been an ongoing issue in Missouri. Voters have become increasingly frustrated in recent years as legislatures have repealed a number citizen-enacted laws.
“Almost every single issue that we have done an initiative petition on has been fought by the Missouri General Assembly particularly in the last 10 years,” said Kay Park, board president of the League of Women Voters of Missouri.
Amendment 6 seeks to place higher restrictions on repeals of citizen-proposed initiatives and limit what voters have seen as power moves by legislators.
“The things that people tend to care the most about (the legislators) do try to overturn,” Park said. “That’s why I think there’s a disconnect. They’re obviously not listening to what the people want.”
This amendment seeks to uphold the ability for voters to have a say in the government through citizen-led initiatives and petitions. It will continue a constitutional right that spans 118 years in the Missouri Constitution.
The change? Amendment 6 will establish a higher threshold for legislatures to repeal voter-approved laws.
This will be done in three main ways:
- Requiring an 80% vote in both chambers of the legislature and a statewide vote of the people to change or undo any law that is passed through initiative petition.
- Requiring all ballot summaries to have clear language
- Keeping the current signature requirements and voting thresholds for citizen-based petitions.
Respect MO Voters, a political action committee, is leading the statewide “Yes on 6” campaign.
“(Amendment 6) guarantees and protects the right for citizens to have a say in their government,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for “Yes on 6.”
In August, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins attempted to prevent the proposed amendment from going on the ballot despite the petition receiving more than 367,000 signatures. Hoskins claimed the proposed amendment consisted of more than one subject, which is prohibited under the Missouri Constitution.
Respect MO Voters sued Hoskins for the decision. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the proposed Amendment 6 would be on the November ballot and rejected Hoskin’s claims that the measure violated the constitution.
The Supreme Court’s decision came after the August primary in which legislators proposed Amendment 4. This amendment sought to make it more difficult for citizens to amend the Missouri Constitution.
Amendment 4 reflected a loss for legislators and exemplified the disconnect between what legislators think voters in Missouri want, as 80.3%, or more than 1.1 million Missourians rejected the amendment.
“It would have made it virtually impossible for citizens to put stuff on the ballot and pass it,” Cardetti said.
There have been concerns about the impact Amendment 6 will have on lawmaking duties from legislators stating that the amendment will prevent them from doing their job properly.
“I think it is going to circumvent our legislature and undermine our constitution,” Lt. Gov. David Wasinger said in an interview.
Despite legislators’ concerns, there has been wide support for the amendment from statewide advocacy groups, coalitions and leaders.
Missouri leaders like Jack Danforth, former Republican U.S. senator, and Jason Kander, a Democrat and former Missouri Secretary of State, stated their support in a joint press release.
“Preserving the initiative petition process and respecting the will of the people are essential checks and balances when elected officials become too invested in maintaining the status quo,” Kander said in the release.
Additionally, more than $5.5 million has been raised so far on the “Yes on 6” campaign. The campaign has spent $3.2 million on broadcast ads that began Sept. 22, with its first ad featuring former Republican State Sen. Bob Johnson.
“This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats, it’s about honoring the will of the people,” Johnson said in the ad.
MO Protect PAC, a coalition working against Amendment 6, has reported raising $40,000 during their fall campaign.
“There’s a ton of excitement about the campaign,” Cardetti said. “We’re seeing Republicans and Democrats get behind this idea … this isn’t a partisan issue at all.”
An August poll from St. Louis University and the YouGov Program surveyed 900 Missouri voters to assess opinions surrounding Amendment 6 and if they would support an amendment to the state constitution addressing the initiative process. The poll showed 48% support, 21% oppose, and 32% not sure with a 4% margin of error.
Democratic voters’ responses in this poll showed 60% support for an amendment, and Republican voters’ responses showed 37% support.
“I think the general consensus that we’ve heard in every corner of the state is that ultimately Missouri voters should have the final say, not politicians,” Cardetti said.
What drove Amendment 6
The foundation for Amendment 6 spans from a need for accountability within the Missouri legislature. Recent issues of paid sick leave and reproductive rights have reaffirmed the idea of accountability for many Missouri voters.
In 2024, Proposition A made the November ballot and sought to increase the minimum wage in Missouri to $15 in addition to requiring employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The initiative passed with 57.6% of the vote.
A month later, legislators introduced HB 567, a bill that would repeal the paid sick leave provision that was passed in November 2024.
HB 567 passed successfully through the Missouri House and Senate in Spring 2025, and Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the bill into law on July 10, 2025, revoking the paid sick leave provision that voters accepted a couple of months earlier.
In a press release, after repealing paid sick leave, Kehoe stated “We are protecting the people who make Missouri work by cutting taxes, rolling back overreach and rolling back costly mandates.”
Currently, Missouri businesses do not have an earned paid sick leave statute. Missouri Jobs with Justice, a coalition that was a lead campaigner for Proposition A in 2024, is continuing to help Missouri workers affected by HB 567.
“Missourians expect elected leaders to fight for affordable healthcare … politicians who ignore that message should expect voters to hold them accountable,” said Caitlyn Adams, director of Missouri Jobs with Justice.
The right of abortion was made legal in Missouri in November 2024 after 51.6% of voters said yes on the proposed Amendment 3.
Since its passage, legislators in the Missouri Statehouse have made multiple attempts to repeal abortion, culminating with passage of a new Amendment 3 for this November ballot, which would prohibit abortion in most cases.
“Voters made it clear that we want Missourians and their families in charge of personal medical decisions, not politicians and lawyers,” said a press release from “No on 3,” Stop the Abortion Ban coalition.
Both of these issues have laid bare the increased gap between legislators and voters with observers saying a solution in fixing this disconnect comes from a need for common ground.
Impact of Amendment 6
Twenty six states have an initiative process, referendum process, or both at the state level. Missouri is one of the few states that have both an initiative and referendum process.
With the adoption of Amendment 6, Missouri can become one of the states with the greatest protections against elected lawmakers changing or repealing laws enacted by voters because of the requirements it will place on legislators to amend initiatives.
“We fit in with a long tradition that’s going back decades of adding protections, but we’re going to have probably the strongest protections of any state,” said Scott LaCombe, a professor at University of Missouri specializing in state-level institutions and political responsiveness.
The question of how this amendment will affect the disconnect between legislators and voters remains unclear.
Supporters of Amendment 6 believe that this will be a learning lesson for legislators in understanding what voters truly want.
Because of the 80% required vote from both chambers to change a voter-enacted law, legislators will be forced to help enforce voter-based initiatives.
“Every legislator in an initiative state knows on any given issue, if (they) push too far, too fast or too far in one direction then the voters can overturn it,” LaCombe said. “It’s almost like having this voice behind your head.”
Opponents of the amendment warn that lawmakers will have the inability to address problems within voter-based initiatives even if a policy proves unworkable.
It remains a mystery whether Amendment 6 will change the perspectives of lawmakers regarding voter needs. But, it is determined that Amendment 6 will have a significant impact on future Missouri lawmaking if passed.
“If Amendment 6 passes, that is not going to just affect how legislators feel about the initiative process, but it is going to change the rules of the game,” LaCombe said. “If you change incentive, you change behavior.”
Early voting in Missouri began last week on Oct. 20 with polling places around the state receiving votes in person and via mail-in absentee ballots.
“I think folks are going to go into November when they think about the issues and the candidates and ask a simple question: Are these (legislators) going to stand with us or sell us out?” Adams said.
