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Voters in Missouri are facing a ballot question backed by the state's Republican-led legislature. It would make it harder for those very voters to change the state's constitution in the future. St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum reports from one of several states with proposals to raise the bar for the public to make laws.
JASON ROSENBAUM, BYLINE: Republicans hold all the top offices in Missouri and control the legislature. They've banned abortion and are conservative with benefits. But Missouri voters have gone to the ballot box to pass constitutional amendments that overturn that abortion ban. They've also voted to expand Medicaid and legalize marijuana. So now the legislature has put a question on the ballot aimed at making it harder to pass amendments. Republicans who back the proposal, like southeast Missouri resident Barry Bean, say the state constitution is too unwieldy and that things like gambling and marijuana regulations should be passed through the legislative process.
BARRY BEAN: Now, I don't think that the average voter really appreciates just how much even a very few people can accomplish if they'll put the time in and work with their legislators, work with the legislative process and have a little patience.
ROSENBAUM: But the proposal, called Amendment 4, is drawing sharp opposition from voters who see the legislature as unresponsive.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: When democracy is under attack, what do we do?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Stand up. Fight back.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: I said what do we do?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Stand up. Fight back.
ROSENBAUM: At a rally against the proposal in suburban St. Louis, Cindy Austin (ph) decried Amendment 4 as an affront to direct democracy.
CINDY AUSTIN: We've got politicians who don't like when the people speak about what they want to be law. And so they're trying to take that away from us.
ROSENBAUM: Currently, in Missouri, a majority vote statewide can amend the constitution. Under Amendment 4, that would still be the rule for questions put on the ballot by the legislature, but initiatives started by the public would need a majority vote in each of the state's eight congressional districts. It gives any district a kind of veto power.
About half the states don't allow voter initiatives, but among those that do, Missouri isn't the only place looking at making them harder to pass. North Dakota and South Dakota will decide in the fall on amendments requiring 60% of the vote to pass, while California and Utah could also raise the bar for voters to approve certain taxes. Nicole Fisher of Ballotpedia, which tracks statewide initiatives, says Missouri's proposal requiring passage in all of the state's congressional districts would be one of the toughest thresholds.
NICOLE FISHER: So you have eight congressional districts. Two of them went for Democratic votes. Six more Republican votes, so those would be a lot more difficult to pass.
ROSENBAUM: None of the big recent amendments approved by voters would've passed under the higher threshold. Even Amendment 4 proponents, like Wayne County resident Vinnie Clubb, concede the plan is getting a rougher than expected reception.
VINNIE CLUBB: I think there's just a lot of anger and mistrust in the government, so that's spreading through everything.
ROSENBAUM: There's another issue here. The legislature has tried to nullify some voter amendments in the past. Voters are proposing a ballot question in the fall to take that power away from lawmakers.
For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum in St. Louis.
(SOUNDBITE OF FLAWED MANGOES' "DRAMAMINE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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