Missouri voters rally against Amendments 4 and 5 ahead of Aug. 4 primary election

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More than 200 people gathered at Westport Presbyterian Church on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, to rally against Amendments 4 and 5 ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election.

The event was part of the statewide Show-Me GOTV Day of Action organized by Abortion Action Missouri, Action St. Louis, Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, Missouri Workers Power, PROMO and Show Up Missouri.

About 700 Missourians turned out statewide at rallies in Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, St. Louis and St. Charles, according to a press release from Missouri Workers Center.

Attendees ended the afternoon canvassing to encourage voter turnout.

Amendment 4 proposes a change to citizen-led initiative petitions that amend the state constitution.

Voters have recently used petitions like this to approve recreational marijuana, sports betting and abortion access.

Currently, it takes a statewide simple majority of 50% plus one to pass a ballot measure.

Amendment 4 would require the majority of each of the eight congressional districts in the state to agree.

If one district does not agree, the measure would not pass.

Erika with Abortion Action Missouri shared her personal experience with the initiative petition process at the rally.

Brian Luton/KSHB 41

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Missouri banned abortion within an hour.

In early 2023, she was halfway through her pregnancy when she received a fatal fetal anomaly diagnosis and was unable to access care in Missouri or Kansas.

She said she had to travel to Washington D.C. to receive care.

"I was halfway through my pregnancy, and I received a fatal fetal anomaly diagnosis, and because Missouri had banned abortion, I was unable to access care here," Erika said.

A coalition later collected signatures for a petition that became Amendment 3, which voters approved in November 2024, restoring abortion access in Missouri.

"Abortion isn't the only thing we've won using this tool,” Erika said. “We've won multiple minimum wage increases, we've expanded Medicaid, campaigned finance reform, and we legalized marijuana.”

President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Garrett Hawkins supports Amendment 4, arguing rural voices are too often left out.

Jonathan Goede/KSHB

"So many times, rural voices are left out of the conversation until they get to the ballot box,” Hawkins said. “This ensures important issues of consequence for our state constitution truly reflect a broad consensus of all Missourians.”

Hawkins also noted that one-fifth of Missouri's state constitution currently deals with marijuana regulations, and he argued well-funded special interests have used the petition process to embed policy into the constitution that should instead be handled through statute.

Amendment 5 deals with the Missouri's income tax.

Voters will decide whether to end it — meaning the state would have to add sales and use taxes on other services to make up for the roughly $9 billion it generates.

Richard Eiker, a longtime McDonald's worker with Missouri Workers Power, spoke against the amendment.

Brian Luton/KSHB 41

"Where are we going to make up for this money? And it's going to be on the backs of the working poor like myself," Eiker said.

Camellia Peterson with Americans for Prosperity Missouri supports Amendment 5, arguing the current system benefits the wealthy.

Charlie Keegan/KSHB

"The wealthy who are able to take advantage of all of the income tax loopholes, they're not paying sales tax on a lot of the services and luxury items that they use," Peterson said. "So, this really spreads that burden out more and gives working Missourians a break and more money in their own pockets."

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