JEFFERSON CITY, MO — On June 23rd, the Missouri Democratic Party’s State Committee — made up of Missourians from all every corner of the state — gathered to formally, and unanimously, endorse a “NO” vote on the anti-citizen Amendment 4, an anti-worker scheme intended to trick and deprive the citizens of Missouri their full and traditional powers guaranteed to them under the state’s constitution.

“Amendment 4 is a direct attack on the citizens of Missouri. For over a hundred years, the initiative petition process has been the only tool Missouri’s working families have had to check the power of politicians in Jefferson City,” said Chair Russ Carnahan. “Let’s be clear on why this is happening: Missourians have used their right to pass citizen-led solutions to issues they care about and Republicans are furious. They want to act like it is a failure of our democracy that our citizens can rally together and enact change, when the real failure is their inability to pass any legislation during their last two decades in power that makes the lives of Missourians easier or better.”

If Amendment 4 passes, Missouri’s initiative petition process would be gutted by adding rules that no other state in the country has. Amendment 4 is designed to silence the majority to protect the powerful, creating a rigged-double standard:

5% of voters would be able to defeat a citizen-sponsored amendment that 95% of the state approves of.

Politicians, elected using the same majority-wins system they are trying to take away, would still be able to pass legislation with a simple majority vote.

“If you vote yes, you’re walking out of that voting booth with less power than you walked in with,” added Carnahan. "This is the most brazen power grab from Missouri citizens in our state's history. Working people won expanded Medicaid, raised wages, rejected right-to-work-for-less, guaranteed paid sick leave, and protected reproductive freedom and Amendment 4 would make it so they never could win those things again.”

The Missouri Democratic Party is calling on every working family, proud union household, and voters of every party who have ever used the initiative petition process to win something real to vote “NO” on Amendment 4 in the upcoming August 4, 2026 election.