The general election on Nov. 3 is quickly approaching.
According to the Cape Girardeau sample ballot, there are five ballot measures to be voted on.
Amendment 3
Amendment 3 has been reintroduced for the 2026 ballot. Amendment 3 aims to overturn the constitutional protections for abortion access that Missourians voted for in 2024. The amendment was introduced to the legislature by Republican State Representative Ed Lewis and passed through the House with 98.4% of Republicans in support and 0% of Democrats in support, according to Ballotpedia.
The amendment has many parts. One section relates to abortion. By voting yes, the amendment would restrict abortion access with exceptions for rape, incest, emergencies and fetal anomalies if they occur under 12 weeks of pregnancy. It will also require parental consent for minors to access abortion.
With a yes vote, another section of Amendment 3 would prohibit gender transitioning procedures for minors, but the SAFE Act already effectively prohibits this.
According to the Missouri Senate website, the SAFE Act, or SB 49, passed in 2023 and prohibits gender transition surgeries, puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones for minors.
Professor of political science Dr. Jason Sides said that, with gender transition procedures already having restrictions, adding language surrounding this topic may be a plea to get more votes to overturn the abortion protections in the Missouri Constitution.
“They’re trying to accomplish something that’s not immediately clear, and so I think what they’re trying to do here is they threw the transgender language in to get more people so they can try to overturn the 2024 proposal,” Sides said.
A yes vote on Amendment 3 will also change the process required to challenge Missouri laws surrounding reproductive health care.
According to Section 36(a), No. 10 of the proposed Amendment 3, any challenges to reproductive health care by parties not representing Missouri will have to be done in the courts of Cole County, Missouri, and Missouri’s attorney general will have to be served and allowed to intervene in any court proceeding.
Sides said Section 36(a), No.10 could be seen as a way to manipulate the outcome of court cases regarding reproductive rights.
Amendment 6
Amendment 6 was proposed as an initiative petition enabled by citizens to “expand the initiative and referendum petition process by making it a fundamental right,” according to the ballot summary. The campaign registered in support of the amendment is Respect MO Voters, according to Ballotpedia.
A yes on Amendment 6 would require fair, easy-to-read and unbiased ballot summaries and prohibit changes going into effect that would weaken Missouri citizens’ constitutional rights to directly propose or reject laws and amendments.
Sides said the amendment is most likely a response to multiple citizens’ initiatives being opposed by the Missouri governor and legislature.
“So, one of the interesting things here is this is where they are going to expand the initiative process. So, I think one of the things you are seeing with this is that increasingly there’s dissatisfaction with how the government’s working, right?” Sides said. “And so if they’re trying to expand the initiative process, this is going to be in response to the fact that we passed a number of initiatives as voters within the state of Missouri, and then the legislature, and the governor, tried to undermine them.”
Republican Missouri Senator Jamie Burger, who represents Cape Girardeau County in the Missouri House of Representatives, posted on Facebook “five reasons to vote no on Amendment 6,” claiming it “erodes our constitutional republic,” and “gives courts more authority,” among other reasons.
Amendment 7
Amendment 7 would “establish a permanent public endowment fund to support state government instead of taxing Missouri residents,” according to the ballot summary.
The fund from a yes on Amendment 7 would be named the Show-me Prosperity Fund. The General Assembly would be prohibited from appropriating or diverting the funds, and taxes will continue until the state treasurer determines the investment is sufficient to eliminate state taxes.
Sides said that where the funds will come from is unclear.
“The problem with this is, if you create this fund, OK, the idea here is to eventually move away from state income tax to move to this fund, what’s not in here is how you’re going to fund the fund,” Sides said.
According to the Missouri budget project, “Amendment 7 is unlikely to lead to the elimination of state taxes for decades, if ever. But in the meantime, it places funding for critical state services at risk if policymakers use revenue to build the fund instead of for services.”
Amendment 8
Amendment 8 aims to “preserve the right of citizens to elect a county sheriff, prohibiting the removal of a sheriff except by a writ of quo warranto and recognize the office of sheriff as part of the administration of justice,” according to the ballot summary.
A yes on Amendment 8 would require a writ of quo warranto, or a legal action, to remove an elected sheriff, which is issued by the Missouri Attorney General. The proposed amendment will also require most counties to elect sheriffs to four-year terms. The duties of the county sheriff are defined in the amendment.
Sides said this will make the process and position of the county sheriff more official.
“This is just going to more formalize the process and ensure that the people are given a voice,” Sides said.
Proposition A redraws Missouri’s congressional district boundaries to a proposed map the Supreme Court rejected in a September decision.
A yes on the proposed congressional district map will replace the current map and show some changes to the lines of almost every district.
Sides said this proposition is a part of a bigger pattern of boundary manipulation we are seeing across the country.
“So one of the things I think is interesting about this is that there is very much a movement afoot at the national level to go and manipulate congressional boundaries,” Sides said. “So one of the things you’re seeing increasingly across the country is that there are very, very few competitive districts. Districts are being redrawn to be either more Republican or more Democrat. So both parties are looking for ways to amplify the presence that they have in the Capitol.”
The biggest change in the proposed map would be to Kansas City, which is currently located almost entirely in the 5th District. In the new map, Kansas City would be split into the 4th, 5th and 6th Districts.
While this is a national trend from both parties, Sides said some Republicans in Missouri are attempting to gain another representative seat.
“Like we’ve gotten to the point in national politics where the Republicans and Democrats are trying to squeeze out every last congressional seat they can, and so some folks on the Republican side looked at Missouri, and they're like, look, if we crack up Kansas City, if we split that, we can get one more Republican legislator,” Sides said.
The U.S. House of Representatives candidates on the ballot for the 8th District are Republican Jason T. Smith, Democrat Chris Reichard and Libertarian Rebecca Sharpe Lombard.
The election is on Nov. 3. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Cape Girardeau County's website has a list of polling locations.
