Missouri Voters Crush Amendments 4 and 5 by 80%-20% and 83%-16%
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 5
Missouri Voters Crush Amendments 4 and 5 by 80%-20% and 83%-16%
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 5
Summary
Missouri voters delivered lopsided defeats Tuesday to Amendment 4 on initiative-petition rules and Amendment 5 on eliminating the state income tax, rejecting both measures across all eight congressional districts.
The two proposals were attacked as Republican-backed power grabs that would curb direct-democracy rights and shift the tax burden away from high earners onto consumers through higher sales taxes.
Gov. Mike Kehoe had campaigned hard for ending the income tax and signaled he still wants tax changes, but the scale of the losses undercuts that agenda at the ballot box.
The result also fits a broader Missouri pattern of voters resisting GOP efforts seen as overriding past statewide decisions, including fights over paid sick leave, puppy-mill rules and the 2018 Clean Missouri reforms.
Why did voters decisively reject a massive income tax cut, and what does it reveal about fears of lost public services?
Could the overwhelming defeat of district-based voting requirements permanently alter how rural communities influence statewide constitutional amendments?