TRUTH ALERT: Amendment 6 empowers direct democracy in Missouri, but opponents warn of consequences
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Amendment 6, proposed by Respect Missouri Voters, will appear on the November ballot, and would limit legislators' power to overturn laws enacted by direct vote of the people.
The ballot language that will appear before voters reads as follows:
- expand the initiative and referendum petition process by making it a fundamental right;
- allow courts to revise ballot summaries through lawsuits;
- prohibit the legislature from weakening initiative or referendum powers;
- prohibit the legislature from changing or repealing laws enacted through the initiative process, or passing laws similar to those rejected by referendum, without approval from at least 80% of both chambers; and
- preserve existing majority vote and signature requirements for initiative and referendum petitions?
If voters approve Amendment 6, it would create more protections for citizen-led initiatives from being overturned by politicians and require ballot language to be clear and unbiased. It would also make it more difficult for lawmakers to overturn citizen-led initiatives and referenda and require ballot summaries to be clear, unbiased, fair and accurate.
"It protects our 118-year constitutional right for citizens to put stuff on the ballot so that we have a say in public policy here in the state of Missouri," said spokesperson for the Yes on Amendment 6 campaign, Jack Cardetti.
The Advertisement
Ad: “I served in the Missouri legislature.”
Former Rep. Bob Johnson (R- Lee's Summit) served in the House of Representatives from 1972-1976 and again from 2003-2007. He served in the Senate from 1979-1993 and as assistant minority floor leader from 1988-1993.
Ad: “I don't think Jefferson City is doing enough listening to voters from either party.”
Johnson served in the Legislature when both Democrats and Republicans had majority control at different times.
When former Republican Gov. John Ashcroft was in charge from 1985–1993, Democrats controlled the legislature and passed laws that made it more difficult to pass initiative petitions, according to Cardetti. Ashcroft vetoed the law in 1992.
"Back when Democrats were in charge of the Missouri Legislature, they actually passed legislation that would try to make it more difficult to pass citizen-led initiatives, and it was Republican Gov. John Ashcroft at the time that vetoed that legislation," said Cardetti.
The Respect Missouri Voters Yes on Amendment 6 campaign collected more than 367,000 signatures to get Amendment 6 on the ballot.
"We think that's a valuable check and balance against politicians to make sure that they're actually listening to the voice of the people," said Cardetti. "Quite frankly, the only people that we really see being against Amendment 6 are the politicians themselves."
But Republican politicians espouse a different view.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News, “Proposed Amendment 6 would permanently handcuff lawmakers from cleaning up or responding to bad or misleading ballot measures, or those that simply have unintended consequences.”
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway wrote on X in August that Amendment 6 was "a radical proposal that would have permanently prevented laws and constitutional amendments from being reconsidered by the people," and called it an "anti-democratic scheme" that "conflicts with both the U.S. Constitution and the Missouri Constitution."
Ad: “When the people of Missouri pass a citizen-led initiative. The results should not be overturned by politicians.”
A citizen-led initiative petition lets voters place proposed statutes and/or amendments on the ballot for a public vote.
For example, back in 2024, Proposition A was a citizen-led petition that increased the state's minimum wage and provided an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
At the polls, 57.6% of Missouri voters voted in favor of Proposition A; however, in 2025, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed HB567 into law, removing the paid sick leave mandate.
HB567 passed in the House 96-51 and in the Senate 22-11.
If Amendment 6 were in effect during the 2025 session, it would not have passed because it did not meet the 80% threshold. The House would have needed 35 more votes to pass. The Senate would have needed an additional six votes to pass.
"Missourians voted to pass that, and the legislature came back and overturned part of it," said Cardetti. "So moving forward, that would not be allowed and that vote of the people would be protected."
Ad: “That's why I'm supporting Amendment 6. This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. It's about honoring the will of the people.”
Does this make these elected officials' jobs harder? Does this weaken the people's choice of who represents them?
"We absolutely send people to Jeff City to represent us, to make sure that our values are put into Missouri state government," said Cardetti. "But when those same politicians aren't listening to their constituents, they're not listening to the voice of the people."
Amendment 6 faced legal back-and-forth to get on the ballot.
LINK: Timeline of the Amendment 6 legal battle
The amendment covers initiative petitions dating back to Jan. 1, 2010 through a retroactive application.
Liberty Alliance, a conservative 501(c)(4) based in Kansas City, claims it would create different amendment procedures for different parts of the same Constitution and would change rules after constitutional amendments have already been adopted.
In August, Hoskins spoke to members of the Missouri Farm Bureau, claiming Amendment 6 would block measures like Missouri's Right to Farm Amendment.
"What this does is it protects recent ballot initiatives that have been passed by the voters and then future ballot initiatives as well," said Cardetti. "We started collecting signatures on this back in 2025, and so this looks back 15 years and says if the Missourians went through the entire process, they put something on the ballot, they passed that, that vote ought to be respected by politicians."
Tune in tonight to ABC 17 News at 6 for the full segment. Click here to access the ABC 17 Voter Guide ahead of Election Day.
