Missouri’s initiative petition process has long served as one of the ways people can shape public policy when statewide voters and the Missouri state legislature reach different conclusions.
It is part of the constitutional balance that ensures governing authority ultimately remains accountable to the people.
Amendment 4 would not eliminate that constitutional authority, but it would make exercising it nearly impossible.
Missouri is one of 26 states that uses a citizen-initiated ballot measure process.
And it is not the only state facing pushback from elected officials.
In South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho, legislators are trying to implement new requirements that would lessen the power of the citizen-led process
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