Clean Missouri, the landmark constitutional amendment that passed in 2018 to end gerrymandering and unfair district maps in Missouri, is under attack.
Politicians and lobbyists are mounting a campaign to pass Amendment 3, a bill that would eliminate current requirements that state legislative maps be drawn based on the total Missouri population and by an independent state demographer. Amendment 3 is a dangerous new scheme that would eliminate the independence and transparency added to the state constitution by voters, give state political parties new powers to rig maps, and take away our rights to challenge unfair maps in court.
Worse still, Amendment 3 is not what it appears to be. In fact, while the plan includes minor campaign finance reforms so that it could be promoted as a “reform” bill, the amendment would replace the voter-approved reforms with some of the worst gerrymandering policies in the country. These tactics are utterly deceitful and dishonest, and it’s time voters like me know the truth.
I will be voting no on Amendment 3 this November, and I’m urging my fellow Missourians to do the same.
Maxine Clark
St. Louis