Missouri Elections 2022

Missouri's Amendment 3 passed Tuesday, legalizing recreational marijuana. Legal weed is expected to bring jobs in the marijuana industry as well as new business to companies that will supply vendors.

KCUR editors discuss their approach to the station's political coverage during the 2022 midterm election.

Midterms typically attract fewer voters than presidential races, but fewer people voted on Tuesday than in the 2018 midterm election. In some parts of the metro, turnout was lower than in the August primary.

Amendment 3, which Missouri voters passed on Tuesday, will go into effect on Dec. 8. Under the newly-approved constitutional amendment, Missourians over 21 will be able to go to a dispensary without a medical marijuana card and buy flower, pre-rolled joints, edibles and other marijuana products.

Four political scientists from Kansas and Missouri broke down the results in several key races and provided analysis on the biggest stories of Election Day 2022.

Missouri Democrats picked up three seats for its largest House caucus since 2011 and won an expensive state Senate race in St. Louis County.

The auditor’s office, tasked with the impartial review of public spending, is currently the only statewide office held by a Democrat. Current Auditor Nicole Galloway decided not to seek another term.

In Missouri, voters have approved the recreational use of marijuana by adults and will send Republican Eric Schmitt to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile in Kansas, voters gave Democrat Sharice Davids another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The constitutional amendment allows recreational marijuana in Missouri and will clear nonviolent marijuana-related charges from criminal records. However, the proposal faced fierce criticism from organizations as disparate as the NAACP and Pro-Choice Missouri.

Kansas City will invest general obligation bond funds over the next five years to upgrade parks and recreation centers and convention facilities and to create more affordable housing units.

The constitutional amendment means that Kansas City will have to spend at least 25% of its budget on the police department, up from its current 20%. The KCPD is governed by the state of Missouri through a Board of Police Commissioners, unlike any other major U.S. city or police department in Missouri.

Republican Eric Schmitt topped Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in a contest that lacked the suspense of previous Senate elections.