Missourians this November are voting on abortion for the second time in two years.
Back in 2024, Missouri voters changed the state constitution to legalize the procedure to the point of fetal viability, undoing the state’s near-total ban.
But when lawmakers returned to Jefferson City the next year, they passed another amendment that would reinstate the abortion ban if voters sign off. That measure will be on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot as Amendment 3 (the same number as the original abortion rights amendment).
This is not the first time that Missouri lawmakers have overturned laws that voters passed through the citizen-led initiative petition process, where residents collect signatures for a proposed law or amendment to place on the statewide ballot.
But that could become much harder to do in the future if voters pass Amendment 6, also appearing on the November ballot.
Amendment 6 would strengthen the state’s voter-led initiative petition process and require an 80% threshold for lawmakers to overturn or change any measure brought and passed by voters.
What Missouri Amendment 6 would do
Amendment 6 will ask Missouri voters whether they want to add provisions to the state constitution to strengthen the initiative petition process. The ballot title reads as follows:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- 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?
State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.”
A “yes” vote supports amending the state constitution to make it harder for lawmakers to repeal laws passed through the voter-led initiative petition process.
A “no” vote opposes amending the state constitution and keeps the current initiative and referendum guidelines in place.
What led to Missouri Amendment 6
During the November 2024 election, Missouri voters passed a law instituting mandatory paid sick leave and an amendment enshrining abortion rights in the constitution. But when state lawmakers convened just a few months later, they voted to overturn the paid sick leave rules and advanced the plan to repeal abortion rights.
In response, a group called Respect Missouri Voters collected more than 300,000 signatures to get Amendment 6 on the ballot.
“The party that’s in power down in Jeff City, a lot of times they want to ignore the will of the people,” said Jack Cardetti, a spokesperson for the Amendment 6 campaign. “Amendment 6 makes sure that Missourians have a seat at the table, and that when it comes to these really big issues, that Missourians themselves, not just politicians, have the final say.”
But state Sen. Joe Nicola, a Republican representing Grain Valley and parts of Jackson County, says Amendment 6 is “dangerous” to a constitutional republic.
“The senators and representatives are directly accountable to the people. And if they don’t like what we’re doing, they can vote us out,” Nicola said.
In recent years, Missouri voters have repeatedly brought and passed legislation through the initiative petition process that the Republican-controlled legislature has not taken up, such as Medicaid expansion, recreational marijuana and sports betting.
Nicola worries that Amendment 6 will make it nearly impossible for lawmakers to fix unintended consequences of legislation. Even if 80% of lawmakers agree to pass a change, it must go back to the voters.
The initiative petition process has long been a point of contention in Missouri, with both Democratic and Republican majorities attempting to change it over the decades.
Amendment 4, which Missouri voters soundly rejected in August, was the latest attempt to limit the impact of the citizen petitions. The proposal would have required citizen-led constitutional amendments to win a majority in every congressional district to pass — a barrier that would likely prove nearly impossible to overcome.
Republican lawmakers argue that the initiative petition process has been co-opted by “out-of-state special interests” and that it allows Democratic-leaning cities like Kansas City and St. Louis to make decisions for the rest of the state, which tends to lean more Republican.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in August declined to certify Amendment 6 for the ballot, arguing in part that the proposal addressed too many subjects. But the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in September that the measure must be included in November’s election, along with Proposition A, which will decide the fate of the state’s 2025 congressional map.
- Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for the “Yes on 6” campaign
- Missouri state Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Grain Valley
