Big Money Should Not Be Able to Rewrite Missouri’s Constitution Without Broad Statewide Support
Amendment 4 would raise the standard for changing Missouri’s Constitution through the initiative petition process.
A proposed constitutional amendment would have to win a statewide majority and a majority in every congressional district. The full text would also be made available to voters.
A YES vote adopts that higher standard.
A NO vote keeps the current system, where a citizen-led constitutional amendment can pass with a simple statewide majority.
We believe the choice is clear.
Big money should not be able to rewrite Missouri’s Constitution without broad statewide support.
Amendment 4 at a Glance
- Current rule: A simple statewide majority can approve a citizen-led constitutional amendment.
- Proposed rule: The amendment must win statewide and in every congressional district.
- Also included: The full text would be available to voters.
- YES vote: Raises the standard for changing the Constitution.
- NO vote: Keeps the current system.
- Election Day: August 4.
Amendment 4 does not decide any one policy issue. It changes the standard that future campaigns must meet before they can place permanent policy into Missouri’s Constitution.
Missouri Is a Big-Money Ballot Target
Ballot initiatives are often presented as grassroots efforts led by ordinary citizens, but that’s not how modern campaigns operate.
They use paid signature gatherers, national organizations, consultants, lawyers and millions of dollars in advertising.
In 2024, campaigns supporting or opposing statewide ballot measures raised approximately $1.33 billion nationwide.
More than $110 million was raised around just eight Missouri ballot measures. Missouri accounted for roughly 8% of the national total.
Missouri attracted more than $110 million in ballot-measure campaign contributions in 2024.
— Liberty Alliance (@LibertyAllUSA) July 15, 2026
Missouri's broken initiative petition system makes our constitution a target.
Vote #YesOn4. #MOLeg pic.twitter.com/g6hGJA5mUo
These are not grandmas with clipboards. They are sophisticated political operations seeking permanent changes to Missouri law.
Money can buy signatures, advertising, and political expertise. It should not replace support from voters across Missouri.
A Statewide Majority Is Not Statewide Support
Under the current system, a campaign can focus its resources on the places most likely to support its proposal.
Large margins in big cities can outweigh opposition across the rest of the state.
Missouri’s cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities all live under the same Constitution. All of them deserve a voice when it changes.
Amendment 4 Requires Broad Support
Amendment 4 would require citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to receive majority support statewide and in each congressional district.
Campaigns would have to make their case across Missouri, not simply find the easiest path to 50% plus one.
Opponents call that a district veto. It is not.
A proposal would fail because its supporters did not persuade a majority of voters in every part of the state.
That’s a higher standard. It should be. Our constitution deserves it.
The Constitution Should Be Harder to Change
Ordinary laws can be amended through the legislative process. Constitutional provisions are much harder to fix once voters approve them.
That makes the Constitution attractive to political interests that want to place detailed policies beyond normal legislative debate.
By a simple page count, marijuana provisions make up about 21% of Missouri’s published Constitution.
Missouri’s Constitution should set the basic rules of government.
— Liberty Alliance (@LibertyAllUSA) June 15, 2026
Some issues belong in statute, where they can be debated, updated, and fixed.
Amendment 4 brings sanity back to the initiative petition process.#MOLeg #YesOn4 pic.twitter.com/KDWAL85MZW
Statutes are better suited for this kind of regulation because they can be updated as conditions change, refined through the legislative process, and shaped by ongoing input from voters, lawmakers, and executive agencies responsible for implementation.
Instead, Missouri is locked into a regulatory regime that was designed by industry players with enough money to fund an initiative campaign.
This is not a healthy way to run a state government.
The Constitution should set durable rules and limits. It should not become a home for every policy campaign with enough money to win a bare majority.
Voters Deserve the Full Text
Amendment 4 would also make the full text of initiative petitions available to voters with their ballots.
A ballot summary cannot include every definition, exception, or mandate in a constitutional amendment. Campaign ads provide even less information.
The pro-marijuana initiative petition that became more than one-fifth of our state constitution was presented to voters in six bullet points.
Opponents of Amendment 4 will point out that the full text of an initiative petition is available on the Secretary of State’s website, somewhere at the polling place, and on the back of a petitioner’s clipboard.
That’s not good enough.
Amendment 4 provides the full text with your ballot so that you have it when you’re voting.
The Rule Applies to Both Sides
Amendment 4 would apply to every future issue.
It’s not simply liberal or conservative.
Conservatives may worry that a Democratic district could reject a conservative amendment. Liberals may worry that conservative districts could reject one of theirs.
Both sides would have to persuade voters outside their strongest areas.
Neither side should be able to rewrite the Constitution without broad support.
The Higher Standard Is the Point
Some proposals that could pass today would fail under Amendment 4.
That is the point.
The initiative petition process would remain available. Missourians could still propose laws and constitutional amendments.
But campaigns seeking to change the Constitution would have to earn support across Missouri.
Vote YES on Amendment 4
Amendment 4 cannot stop wealthy interests from buying ads, hiring consultants or funding statewide campaigns.
It can require them to persuade voters across the state.
Big money should not be able to rewrite Missouri’s Constitution without broad statewide support.
Vote YES on Amendment 4.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA