Informed Health Choice Missouri is a NO vote on Amendment 4 and here is why. We have included below images of the legislation, marked up with our concerns.
Amendment 4 is not real reform, it’s a power grab.
The idea of requiring broader consensus before amending the Constitution is not new. In 2022, Ron Calzone introduced Concurrent Majority Ratification, a true reform that would require a statewide majority plus majority support in a majority of House districts for any constitutional amendment, whether proposed by citizens, the legislature, or a constitutional convention.
That idea brought people together because it treated everyone the same.
Amendment 4 is different. It applies the high bar only to citizen initiated amendments while leaving the legislature’s path easy (simple statewide majority). That’s not reform, it’s a double standard that disarms the people and shifts power to Jefferson City.
Three major problems:
1. The Double Standard – It makes citizen changes much harder (all 8 congressional districts) but keeps the legislature’s route simple. Over 80% of Missouri’s constitutional amendments since 1910 came from the legislature. They created most of the “bloated” constitution we now complain about.
2. It Disarms the People – Requiring all 8 districts is an almost impossible hurdle. For all practical purposes, this confiscates the initiative process, the one tool citizens have to rein in government and protect liberty.
3. Power Shift to Government – Most other states make it harder for legislatures to propose amendments (2/3 or 3/4 vote). Amendment 4 does the opposite, it makes the balance even more lopsided in favor of politicians.
We need real ratification reform that raises the bar for everyone, citizen initiatives, legislative referrals, and constitutional conventions. That’s the constitutional republican principle: constrain majority power consistently, whether it comes from the people or from politicians.
Amendment 4 doesn’t do that. It turns the people’s reserved power upside down and makes citizens dependent on the legislature.
Vote NO on Amendment 4. Let’s hold out for a real solution that protects the Constitution from all threats, including future legislatures.
