August ballot packed with issues

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Voters in Jefferson City and Columbia will be asked to approve new sales taxes this summer, while voters statewide will decide on whether to phase out the income tax.

Ballot issues were due to election authorities on Tuesday, creating the first picture of which questions will appear on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

Gov. Mike Kehoe added several constitutional amendments to the ballot. The one that has drawn the most attention is a question of whether to phase out the state's income tax in favor of increased sales taxes.

Amendment 5's ballot text states:

"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

• Phase out the individual income tax based on revenue growth;
• Reduce personal property and other local taxes when local revenues increase;
• Modify the sales and use tax to eliminate income tax and reduce local taxes; and
• Protect local funding for public schools and other purposes?

The measure is under a legal challenge, with a Kansas City woman filing a suit against the Secretary of State, claiming the ballot includes multiple subjects and violates the state constitution.

Other statewide questions ask whether to keep a sales tax for water conservation and state parks and hisotric sites for 10 years; whether to change rules concerning assessors in charter counties; and whether to change the statewide process by which citizens put questions on the ballot.

Amendment 4 reforms the current initiative petition process and would make it harder for a measure to make the ballot by citizen petition. If approved, instead of an initiative petition requiring a majority vote in each congressional district, it would require a statewide majority vote.

With certification of the ballot over, county clerks are compiling sample ballots for voters.

"We create our ballots in-house, so we program those ballots and get those prepared for absentee voting and for sending out sample ballots to all registered voters," Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said.

Columbia voters will see a 1% public safety sales tax on the August ballot. The measure would add a 1% general sales tax, with funds going solely to the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Fire Department. 

The city estimates that the tax will produce $38 million in revenue. The city plans to use the money to increase fire and police staffing and help with department equipment and renovations.

Jefferson City voters will also vote on extending the city's half-cent sales tax for capital improvements until March 31, 2037.

Congressional map questions

The election is also taking place amid several lawsuits over Missouri's congressional map. The new "Missouri First" map would split Boone County between the Fifth District and the Third District, which reach the edges of the state. The Republican-dominated legislature redrew the Kansas City's Fifth District to eliminate the safe Democratic seat held by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is now certifying signatures for a drive to put the map on the November 2026 ballot. Election offices have until July 27 to determine if the measure has enough signatures for the ballot.

The change leaves residents in several Mid-Missouri counties — including Boone, Cole, Howard, Cooper, Moniteau and Osage — navigating new congressional boundaries, with some voters now shifted between Districts 3, 4 and 5 under the updated map.

Lennon said the secretary of state and Boone County websites have tools to help voters know which district they're in under the old map and the new one.

"I am hopeful that there will be more clarity and resolution as we go through the process of creating the ballots," Lennon said. "I would love to have a resolution well before the August primary."