Missouri voters approved Amendment 6, a constitutional amendment that sharply restricts lawmakers' ability to overturn citizen-led initiatives and reverse rejected referendums.
The amendment requires 80% support in both the House and Senate before lawmakers can propose changing or repealing measures enacted through citizen initiatives, or revive laws voters rejected through referendums. Even then, voters must approve any change in a statewide election. The restriction applies to measures voters have approved since 2010, including the 2024 constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.
The campaign for Amendment 6 was organized by Respect Missouri Voters, co-founded and directed by Benjamin Singer. The organization began organizing in late 2024. Volunteers cited lawmakers' 2011 decision to weaken puppy mill restrictions that voters had approved a year earlier, and more recent efforts in 2025 to undo voter-approved paid sick leave and abortion protections.
Amendment 6 also strengthens the referendum process by explicitly protecting citizens' right to enact laws and constitutional amendments with a simple statewide majority. It safeguards Missouri courts' power to rewrite misleading ballot language.
Denny Hoskins, Missouri's secretary of state and a prominent Republican opponent of the amendment, said before the election that if it passed, "it will basically cut our legislature off at the knees as far as being able to pass laws to reduce crime and cut taxes." On Wednesday after the election, Hoskins said the amendment weakens the legislature and governor "regardless of party" and predicted it would face court challenges.
Travis Crum, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said he knew of no other state with a restriction quite like Missouri's 80% threshold.