Voters in Missouri and Kansas rejected all three constitutional amendments that Republican legislatures placed on Tuesday's primary ballot.
Missouri Amendment 4 (80-20%): Would have required citizen-led ballot initiatives to win a majority in every congressional district, not just statewide. GOP lawmakers gerrymandered those districts heavily, including erasing a Democratic seat earlier this year. The effect: conservatives would get veto power over broadly popular progressive amendments. Voters saw it for what it was.
Missouri Amendment 5 (83-17%): Would have phased out the state income tax and expanded sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. The third-largest defeat margin in state history.
Kansas Amendment 1 (61-39%): Would have abolished the state's merit-based Supreme Court nominating commission and switched to direct judicial elections. Republicans placed it on the August primary ballot (lower turnout, more GOP-leaning) hoping to eventually install anti-abortion justices. Same playbook they tried and lost in 2022 when voters upheld abortion rights 60-40.
... Show more...Voters in Missouri and Kansas rejected all three constitutional amendments that Republican legislatures placed on Tuesday's primary ballot.
Missouri Amendment 4 (80-20%): Would have required citizen-led ballot initiatives to win a majority in every congressional district, not just statewide. GOP lawmakers gerrymandered those districts heavily, including erasing a Democratic seat earlier this year. The effect: conservatives would get veto power over broadly popular progressive amendments. Voters saw it for what it was.
Missouri Amendment 5 (83-17%): Would have phased out the state income tax and expanded sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. The third-largest defeat margin in state history.
Kansas Amendment 1 (61-39%): Would have abolished the state's merit-based Supreme Court nominating commission and switched to direct judicial elections. Republicans placed it on the August primary ballot (lower turnout, more GOP-leaning) hoping to eventually install anti-abortion justices. Same playbook they tried and lost in 2022 when voters upheld abortion rights 60-40.
The thread connecting all three: Republican supermajorities tried to change the rules after voters kept bypassing them on Medicaid expansion, minimum wage, abortion rights, marijuana legalization, and paid sick leave. Voters said no, decisively.
Sources:
news.ballotpedia.org/2026/08/0…
cnn.com/2026/08/05/politics/mi…
nbcnews.com/politics/2026-elec…
#Missouri #Kansas #Election2026 #DirectDemocracy
The push came after progressives in the solidly Republican state found success with ballot measures related to abortion, health care and the minimum wage.
Jane C. Timm (NBC News)
