Amendment 6 supporters significantly outspend opponents in Missouri

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri voters will decide Tuesday whether to make it harder for state lawmakers to change or repeal laws approved through the citizen initiative petition process.

Amendment 6 would change the Missouri Constitution to strengthen protections for citizens' initiative and referendum powers. Under the proposal, lawmakers would need at least 80% approval in both the Missouri House and Senate to send a proposed change to a voter-approved initiative law back to the ballot.

Voters would then have to approve the change.

Supporters say the amendment would protect the will of voters and prevent lawmakers from undoing policies approved at the ballot box. Opponents argue it would limit the legislature's ability to respond to changing circumstances and adjust state law.

The amendment would also declare initiative and referendum rights fundamental under the Missouri Constitution. It would restrict lawmakers' ability to weaken the process, including by increasing signature requirements, shortening the time available to collect signatures, or adding other requirements for petitioners. 

The Missouri Republican Party and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry have been among the most vocal opponents of Amendment 6.

However, the measure has received strong support from labor unions across the state, including the Missouri AFL-CIO and Missouri National Education Association. Supporters of Amendment 6 have also significantly outspent opponents. Campaign finance reports show more than $8 million spent in support, compared with $109,627 in opposition spending, all of which came from the Mo Protect PAC.

Meanwhile, the Missouri AFL-CIO contributed $1,173,497 to the campaign, the largest donation from any single contributor. The Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union No. 36, which is hosting an election watch party in St. Louis, also donated $300,000 in support. 

Other organizations supporting Amendment 6 include the Missouri Democratic Party, Empower Missouri, Metropolitan Congregations United, Missouri Action Alliance, Missouri NAACP State Conference, Missouri National Organization for Women, Missouri NORML, Show Me Integrity, Sierra Club Missouri Chapter and Veterans for All Voters.

“For 118 years, Missourians have had the constitutional right to put initiatives on the ballot and to vote on those things. We've seen those under attack recently here in the state of Missouri,” Jack Cardetti, a spokesperson for the “Yes on 6” campaign, told ABC 17 News. “We're really thankful to have all of the support we have, from working families and from other organizations that want to make sure that we continue to have a way to hold politicians accountable when they're ignoring our voices.”

Over the past 50 years, 21 changes to the state's constitution have come through citizen initiative petitions.

Notable measures approved in the past decade include medical marijuana in 2018, Medicaid expansion in 2020, recreational marijuana in 2022, sports betting in 2024 and a 2024 constitutional amendment establishing reproductive freedom. 

The 2024 sports betting measure passed by fewer than 3,000 votes, making it the narrowest victory among the 21 successful initiative petitions.

However, state lawmakers have since reversed or modified some of those voter-approved initiatives, making Amendment 6 a pivotal measure in the ongoing debate over the future of Missouri’s citizen-led initiative petition process.

State lawmakers have since advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the 2024 reproductive freedoms protections and replace them with more restrictive abortion provisions. 

Supporters of Amendment 6 also point to Proposition A, approved by Missouri voters in 2024, as an example of why they believe the initiative process needs stronger protections.

Proposition A raised the state's minimum wage and required employers to provide paid sick leave. In July 2025, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a House Bill that repealed the paid sick leave requirement and the automatic inflation adjustments approved by voters.

If Amendment 6 had been in effect, lawmakers would have faced a much higher threshold to send proposed changes to the voter-approved law back to the ballot.

"We've heard from a lot of voters that they're just sick and tired of them going through the whole process to put something on the ballot, vote for it, only to see politicians return to Jeff City and overturn it, Cardetti said. "The beautiful thing about Amendment 6 is that it's not about any one issue. It's about having that right and making sure that we're able to have an issue of petition process here in Missouri, and also making sure that the ballot summaries that are on these are unbiased, clear and easy to understand."

Under current law, citizens can use initiative petitions to propose constitutional amendments and state statutes. Voters can also use veto referendums to challenge legislation passed by the General Assembly.

To qualify a measure for the ballot, petitioners must collect signatures from registered voters in at least two-thirds of Missouri's congressional districts. The required number of signatures is based on the votes cast for governor in each district. Constitutional amendments require signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast for governor, while statutes and veto referenda require 5%.

Currently, voter-approved state statutes can be amended or repealed by the legislature through the regular legislative process. Changing a voter-approved constitutional amendment requires another constitutional amendment approved by voters.

Amendment 6 would add a higher threshold for lawmakers seeking to refer changes to voter-approved initiative laws back to voters.

Less than an hour before polls closed, Cardetti told ABC 17 News he was confident Amendment 6 would pass, pointing to voters’ rejection of Amendment 4 in August, a separate proposal that would have required initiative petitions to receive majority support in all eight congressional districts, rather than simply winning a statewide majority.

"More than 80% of Missourians in August went and voted against Amendment 4. Amendment 6 is just the opposite. So we're really, really enthusiastic," Cardetti said. "We have support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. This isn't a Partizan issue. In fact, most of our opposition is coming from the politicians themselves."