Missouri’s fight over a Republican-backed 2025 congressional map has put the state’s referendum process in the spotlight, and voters will decide in November whether to give that citizen power greater constitutional protection.
Missouri Amendment 6 is a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment designed to protect the state’s direct democracy process, proponents say. The measure, spearheaded by the advocacy group Respect MO Voters, seeks to stop state lawmakers from weakening initiative or referendum powers or using a simple majority vote to undo laws passed directly by voters.
A “yes” vote would make initiative and referendum powers a fundamental right. It would prohibit the General Assembly from changing citizen-initiated laws or passing laws similar to those rejected by referendum unless 80% of both the House and Senate vote to send the proposed change to voters.
In addition, passage of the amendment would require ballot summaries to be clear, unbiased, fair, accurate and easy to understand and would expressly allow courts to revise ballot summaries through lawsuits.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.