Last week, the Missouri General Assembly brazenly attacked the will of the people. Again. Lawmakers repealed parts of Proposition A, the citizen initiative that passed with 57% support, to raise the minimum wage and secure paid sick leave. Politicians just tore it apart. And they pushed a near-total abortion ban onto the ballot with misleading language designed to undo Amendment 3, which voters passed with 52%. They’re not stopping there.

The legislature has also passed a law to sabotage future petition initiatives, trying to end the process altogether. This is not just wrong. It’s a fundamental threat to our freedom. The people of Missouri have used citizen initiatives for over a century to pass laws when politicians failed us. It’s how Missourians have fought corruption, raised wages, expanded access to health care and kept taxes reasonable. But instead of respecting voters, our legislature is attacking us — overturning our votes, blocking our needs and using dishonest ballot language to mislead us at the polls. It’s a blatant power grab. And we have one chance to stop it.

That’s why the Respect Missouri Voters Coalition — a grassroots, cross-partisan, volunteer-led campaign — is organizing to pass a constitutional amendment in November 2026 to ban politicians from overturning the will of the people. Our coalition is broad and diverse. We include the National Organization for Women, Metropolitan Congregations United, Veterans for All Voters, the Missouri NAACP, Show Me Integrity, the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations and many more. Together, we are standing up for every Missourian — left, right or center — who believes our vote should count and our voice should matter.

Our proposed amendment would do three things:

• Protect voter-passed laws: It would prohibit legislators from changing or repealing anything passed by citizen initiative unless by an 80% bipartisan supermajority to address technical issues.
• Defend the citizen initiative process: It would stop politicians from making it harder to get initiatives on the ballot and pass them.
• Ensure honest ballot language: It would require clear, unbiased language so voters understand exactly what’s at stake.

Make no mistake — this is not a partisan issue. Politicians from both parties have tried to take away your freedom to use the initiative petition process and put all the power in their hands. It usually happens right after voters pass something the ruling party doesn’t like. In the 1980s, after Missourians approved the Hancock Amendment to limit taxes, the Democratic-led General Assembly tried to cripple the initiative process. Republican Gov. John Ashcroft vetoed the effort, rightly calling ballot initiatives a crucial voter freedom, and criticizing lawmakers who tried to silence the people. Today, Republican majorities are attacking initiatives they disagree with. As former GOP House Speaker Carl Bearden put it four years ago: “Neither party was or is correct in attacking the power the people have reserved to themselves to exercise a check against the General Assembly.”

Right now, Missouri is one of just 11 states with no law protecting citizen initiatives from being overturned. That’s unacceptable. So here’s the plan — and how you can help: We need to collect more than 300,000 signatures to get this amendment on the 2026 ballot. That takes a statewide, people-powered army of 2,500 volunteers committed to just two hours per week of signature gathering. And yes, we’re raising money. Every dollar helps us train volunteers, print petitions and fuel this movement. Let’s be clear: This isn’t about one issue. It’s about all of them. Whether you care about health care, jobs, taxes or education, the freedom of the citizen initiative petition is what gives us a fighting chance when politicians won’t listen.

So when you see another angry post about the legislature’s latest betrayal, drop a comment about the Respect Missouri Voters amendment: “We can ban them from overturning the will of the people.” This is our one shot. If we don’t act now, they’ll succeed in silencing us forever. But if we rise up together, organize and pass this amendment, we will make history — and be sure that when the people of Missouri speak, the politicians have no choice but to listen. Learn more and join us at RespectMOVoters.org.

Let’s win this — for Missouri’s democracy.

Benjamin D. Singer is CEO of the 501(c)(4) nonprofit Show Me Integrity. Nimrod “Rod” Chapel, Jr. is president of the 501(c)(4) nonprofit Missouri NAACP.