Columbia Missourian Letter to the Editor: Missouri voters are losing rights at hands of politicians

Fellow Missourians, we lost a right this year.

The passage of the “Let Politicians Lie Act” (Senate Bill 22) allows the secretary of state to run out the clock on any attempt at a citizen initiative while he writes ballot language that misleads us into voting for or against something voters don’t really want. He’ll get three tries at the language before a court will take over and rewrite the ballot summary. The process could take so long that a citizen initiative isn’t feasible.

Maybe you’ve noticed how difficult it is to reach your legislator, much less get him/her to take action on your concern. That’s why we’ve used citizen initiatives to get these issues on the ballot and passed by voters in the last 15 years: the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act (we passed/they overturned), Clean Missouri, the anti-corruption/anti-gerrymandering amendment (we passed/they tricked voters into undoing), medical and recreational marijuana, Medicaid expansion, women’s health care rights (we passed/they are putting back on the ballot with extra-confusing language), and minimum wage and sick pay (we passed/they overturned).

We have one last chance to protect our right to citizen initiatives. Respect Missouri Voters is working to put an amendment on the 2026 ballot that would nullify the “Let Politicians Lie Act” and restore the right of petition to voters.

You can see the article on the Columbia Missourian site here.