Amendment 4 would require all 8 Missouri districts to agree on citizen petitions

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

August voters are set to decide on Amendment 4, which looks to increase the required number of votes needed for a citizen petition to pass.

Currently, amendments pass through a simple majority. If approved, Amendment 4 would require a majority vote in all eight of the state's congressional districts.

Previous ballot measures like the state legalizing sports betting in 2024 and expanding Medicaid eligibility in 2020, were approved by 50.05% and 53.27%. If under Amendment 4, they would not have passed since they were not approved by voters in Congressional District 7 in southwest Missouri.

Supporters of Amendment 4 argue the measure helps balance the weight of votes, particularly in rural areas. When the state approved abortion access through a vote in 2024 by a 51.6% popular vote in the state, though it only carried a majority vote in a handful of counties, predominantly in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, as well as Boone County.

Opponents of Amendment 4 argue that the rule goes against majority rule. If 50.1% of voters voting "no" in one district could cause a measure to fail, that means 5% of voters statewide could block the measure.

The measure will also require the full text of initiative petitions to be shown to voters on the ballot. It would make it so that no foreign entities could help fund campaigns of ballot initiatives.

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