The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday placed a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot that would make it much harder for the legislature to overturn voter-approved initiatives.
The high court reversed a decision from Cole County Judge Daniel Green blocking what's known as the Respect Missouri Voters initiative going to voters. Under the proposed constitutional amendment, 80% of the legislature would need to vote to alter any statutory or constitutional change passed through the initiative petition process. Those alterations would still then need to be ratified through a statewide vote.
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court rejected Green's ruling and put the initiative on the ballot.
Judge Ginger Gooch wrote Hoskins' "certificate fails to identify any reason the petition is insufficient under the Missouri Constitution," it does "not comply with [state law] and preserves nothing for this Court's review."
"Almost all the secretary's unpreserved arguments concern potential constitutional violations that may or will occur only if the voters adopt the proposed amendment," Gooch wrote. "Even assuming these hypothetical constitutional claims were preserved, they are not ripe for review pre-election and are not a basis for finding the petition itself insufficient."
Hoskins' claims that the proposal contains "multiple subjects and amends multiple articles," she wrote, "lack merit."
The proposal would appear as Amendment 6 on Nov. 3. Backers of the plan said they are ready to pass the measure.
"Today's decision is a victory for Missouri voters and for the fundamental principle that the people should have the final say," said Eric Bronner, a Webster Groves resident who supports the Respect Missouri Voters initiative, in a statement. "More than 367,000 Missourians signed petitions to put Amendment 6 before the voters. They followed the process, did the work, and earned a place on the ballot. Now the politicians are out of the way, and the decision belongs where it should have been all along — with Missouri voters."
Additionally, the initiative would bar legislators from proposing anything to constrain the initiative petition process.
For instance, if the Respect Missouri Voters initiative was in place, lawmakers wouldn't have been able to propose the recently rejected Amendment 4 – which would have required initiative petition-directed constitutional amendments to pass in all eight congressional districts.
In addition to the Respect Missouri Voters initiative, Missourians will decide on constitutional amendments to reimpose a near-total ban on abortion, establish a "sovereign wealth fund" and require that most sheriffs be elected.
The Missouri Supreme Court also ruled that a referendum aimed at overturning a 2025 congressional map will be on the November 2026 ballot.
This story has been updated.
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