The ballot initiative process is under attack in Missouri. New laws are making their way through the state legislature that would make it harder if not impossible for voters to decide for themselves what direction they want their state’s government and elections to take.
Bills that have advanced in the legislature include changes that would:
Shorten the time period to gather petition signatures to put an initiative on the ballot
Increasing the number of signatures required
Charge voters $500 to file the petition
Require a supermajority vote to pass
And more.
“Politicians are trying to dramatically limit our constitutional freedom to access and use the citizen initiative process, while telling us it’s for our own good. This is nothing more than a deceitful attempt to take power from us and give it to themselves,” said Benjamin Singer, executive director of the cross-partisan group Show Me Integrity.