Columbia Missourian Letter to the Editor: Legislators must learn to respect voice of Missouri citizens

It turns out that history repeats itself.

On May 14, the Missouri legislature overrode the November vote for paid sick leave and minimum wage increases, despite garnering 57% of the vote. Further, reproductive health care will be on the ballot again in 2026, put there by the legislature using deceptive ballot language to mislead voters.

In addition, the legislators passed SB 22, which allows the Missouri secretary of state to change contested summaries for ballot measures or even stall measures if deceptive ballot language is challenged in courts.

This is not new. Democrats tried to do it to the Hancock Amendment in 1980, Republicans successfully overturned the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act in 2011, and in 2020, Clean Missouri was sent back to the voters with ballot language that hid the fact that it undid fair redistricting rules.

Missouri is one of just 11 states with no law prohibiting the legislature from overturning the will of the people through citizen initiatives. Courts have consistently upheld the vote of the people, but as this session ended, legislators overruled citizen’s vote once again.

You can read the full article on the Columbia Missourian’s website here.