The Kansas City Star: Missouri politicians keep overturning voters’ will. Let’s stop it for good | Opinion
Missouri politicians are attacking our freedom. They keep overturning measures that voters have passed, and attacking our power to use citizen-led initiative petitions. As Kansas City residents who have voted Republican most of our lives, my husband and I are disgusted by the General Assembly’s power grabs.
But you can do something to stop this once and for all.
More than 1,000 volunteers across the state are collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot called the Respect Missouri Voters Amendment. It would ban the legislature from overturning measures that voters have approved, requiring an 80% supermajority to send any changes to a vote of the people. It would also prevent politicians from weakening the initiative petition process and require ballot language be clear, easy to understand and not misleading. It’s a citizen initiative to save citizen initiatives.
The Respect Missouri Voters Amendment is endorsed by groups and leaders across the political spectrum, such as:
Republican former U.S. Sen. John Danforth Democratic
former Missouri House leader Crystal Quade
The Missouri National Organization for Women
The Missouri NAACP
Show Me Integrity Veterans for All Voters
The truth is, it’s not a Republican or Democratic issue — it’s a people of Missouri issue. For decades, politicians have been trying to take away our freedom of the initiative petition and put all the power in their hands. It usually happens after voters pass initiatives opposed by the ruling party. This happened under Democratic majorities in the 1980s. and 1990s, and now it’s happening under Republican control. After the Hancock Amendment passed in 1980 to limit taxes, the Democratic-led General Assembly tried to restrict initiative petitions.
We agreed with GOP former Gov. John Ashcroft’s statement when he vetoed Democrats’ attack on initiative petitions: “It is through the initiative process that those who have no influence with elective representatives may take their cause directly to the people.” As Republican former House Speaker Carl Bearden said just a few years ago, neither party is right to attack the people’s power to have a check on government.
Missouri voters have used our power, but all too often have watched in dismay as politicians claimed, “The voters just don’t understand,” and overturned measures that we approved:
In 2018, voters approved the Clean Missouri ethics reforms to ban partisan gerrymandering. The General Assembly responded with deceptive ballot language to overturn it.
Legislators wouldn’t expand Medicaid, so voters passed an initiative petition for affordable health care. The Missouri General Assembly refused to fund it until ordered to do so by the courts.
Last November, Missouri voters passed sick leave for workers with a strong majority of 58%. The legislature simply repealed it.
Those are just a few examples of the disrespect our elected officials have shown Missouri voters.
The Respect Missouri Voters Amendment, if approved by voters, would fix the problem by doing three things:
Require ballot summaries to be clear, unbiased, fair, accurate and easy to understand.
Prohibit the General Assembly from overturning or changing initiatives passed by voters unless an 80% bipartisan supermajority sends changes to the voters to approve.
Protect our constitutional freedom of the citizen initiative petition and referendum process, prohibiting the legislature from making it more difficult for citizens to gather signatures or pass initiatives at the ballot box.
This has broad, bipartisan support as it promotes fundamental democratic principles and the will of the voters. These protections are based on best practices from many other states.
It’s time Missouri legislators respected the will of the voters who put them in office. Sign the petition. Volunteer. Get involved or learn more at respectmovoters.org
Cathi Brain co-wrote this commentary with her husband David, a former Jackson County Republican Party committee member. They are supporters of many nonprofits and organizations such as American Public Square and Show Me Integrity that promote civic engagement.
You can read the article on the Leader Publications’ website here.
