Missouri voters have officially voted against Amendment 4, which would have weakened the ability of voters to pass citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives. The initiative was celebrated by many, especially Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, who called it a “TOTAL repudiation by Missouri voters of a core agenda of state GOP leadership”.
Comments under a Reddit post that continues the conversation were largely against the Amendment, with some even expressing shock that anyone voted for it at all.
On August 4, Amendment 4 was voted against by a 60-point margin, with many, including Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas. In a video posted to the social media platform X, Lucas said, “An amazing day in Missouri where the people stood together, and the people said, you know what, this doesn’t make sense. And that was across all types of political persuasions, across counties, not just in Kansas City and Saint Louis, all around the state. Great work by each and every one of you.”
According to Ballotpedia, those who vote “YES” to the amendment, “supported amending the Missouri Constitution to require voter approval of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in each congressional district, rather than statewide; add language prohibiting ”foreign nationals” and ”foreign adversaries”, as defined, from spending to support or oppose ballot measures, with penalties for violations; and add language regarding penalties for ballot initiative signature petition fraud, among other changes.“
The total votes were counted on August 5, where 80.3% of voters rejected the Amendment, while 19.7% supported it. Those who oppose the measure, which include abortion rights groups and even a state real estate association, said that approval of the Amendment could mean that amendments could win majority votes and still fail.
This particular defeat to the GOP comes on the heels of the rejection of Amendment 5, which would have reduced the state individual income tax until it is eliminated, as well as reducing personal property and other local taxes when local revenues increase, while prohibiting defunding public schools, among other things.
Comments and Reactions Towards Missouri Mayor’s Statement
There were various commenters under the Reddit post who showed confusion that there was anyone who voted for the Amendment at all. One commenter wrote, “19.7% voted for it? Why?”
In response to this particular comment, another person wrote, “47% of the country voted for a rapist/conman/billionaire who bankrupted 7 casinos, just because he said he was on their side. Don’t be too surprised when people accidentally vote against their own interests, it’s become so commonplace that helpful politicians feel like a welcome surprise instead of the lowest standard.”
Currently, as the topic continues to go viral, more and more people are leaving their opinions and frustrations in the comments and discussing them with one another.
