JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 House Republicans on Tuesday added new language to a ballot proposal that would ask voters to make it harder to amend the Missouri Constitution, potentially making the plan an easier sell at the ballot box.
The House Elections and Elected Officials Committee voted Tuesday to reject a plan previously approved in the Senate that would only ask voters to consider changing the requirements for enacting citizen-led constitutional amendments.
The plan advanced Tuesday by the House committee not only would ask voters to raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments, but would also limit constitutional amendment participation to U.S. citizens, forbid foreign governments from funding constitutional amendments, and require a voter-review mechanism for constitutional amendment initiatives.
People are also reading…
U.S. citizenship is already listed as a qualification to vote in Missouri, and federal law in U.S. elections. Democrats have blasted extra provisions as 鈥渂allot candy鈥 to boost support for their plan.
鈥淭his is designed to mislead voters,鈥 said Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia. 鈥淪o much was done (in the Senate) to remove this 鈥 and then to come over here and to slap it back in 鈥 I think it鈥檚 outrageous.鈥
The action Tuesday followed a request by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican who is running for secretary of state, for the House to amend the Senate measure she was sponsoring.
鈥淪he said she wanted to see this come back to the Senate with this language on there,鈥 Rep. Ken Waller, R-Herculaneum, said of Coleman on Tuesday.
Coleman had voted against removing the so-called 鈥渂allot candy鈥 earlier this year as the Senate considered the measure. Ultimately a coalition of nine Democrats and nine Republicans voted to remove the extra provisions, ending a Democratic filibuster and advancing the legislation to the House.
While constitutional amendments currently require a simple majority vote for passage, the legislation under consideration would also require affirmative votes in five of eight U.S. congressional districts to take effect. Six of the state鈥檚 eight congressional districts favor the GOP.
In another change from the previous Senate version, the higher threshold for passage would apply to all proposed constitutional amendments, not just for ones put forth by voters but also for proposals coming from the Legislature.
Republicans are pushing for the new requirement as the campaign Missourians for Constitutional Freedom collects signatures for a ballot question later this year to overturn Missouri鈥檚 near-total abortion ban, which Coleman helped pass in 2019.
The office of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, has previously said that if voters approve a higher threshold for constitutional amendments in August, it would be in effect for the November elections.
If Missourians for Constitutional Freedom makes the ballot, a higher threshold in November would make it more difficult for abortion-rights proponents to enact the constitutional protections.
The movement to raise the bar for constitutional amendments follows numerous citizen-led initiative petitions in recent election cycles that have effectively sidestepped the Legislature.
Unlike citizen-led statutory changes, which are easier to get on the ballot, lawmakers can鈥檛 repeal a constitutional amendment.
When Coleman previously called for changing the Senate bill, frustrated Democrats derailed business in the upper chamber for a day.
Following Tuesday鈥檚 vote in the House committee, the resolution still must receive final approval on the House floor for the Senate to again consider the plan.
The legislation is Sena