A constitutional amendment to legalize sports wagering will appear as Amendment 2 on the November 5th ballot. The Missouri Secretary of State’s office confirmed that backers had secured enough signatures in six congressional districts to qualify the measure for a public vote.
In addition to the sports wagering initiative, a proposal to increase the minimum wage will also be on the ballot as Proposition A. This marks the third time that voters in Missouri will decide on a measure to raise the minimum wage, which has been approved in previous elections. Proposition A includes a provision that requires all employers to provide paid time off to workers at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.
A third initiative, which sought to allow a new casino to be licensed on the Osage River near the Lake of the Ozarks, did not gather enough signatures to make the ballot. The proposal, intended to compete with a planned Osage Nation casino, fell short by 2,031 valid signatures in the 2nd Congressional District.
For each initiative to qualify, it needed to meet a minimum signature threshold in six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.
Additionally, a constitutional amendment designed to protect reproductive rights, including the right to an abortion, has been certified for a public vote. The initiative, which would enshrine the right to abortion up until the point of fetal viability, received final approval and will appear on the general election ballot. If passed, Missouri could become the first state to overturn an abortion ban through a citizen-led measure.
In another development, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday that Missouri voters will decide whether to ban ranked-choice voting statewide. This decision means the contentious issue will be on the November ballot, along with a proposed amendment stating that only U.S. citizens can vote. Ranked-choice voting, currently used only in the St. Louis area, allows voters to rank candidates by preference, ensuring a majority winner by redistributing votes from eliminated candidates. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft supports the ban.
