Missouri voters overwhelmingly reject two high-profile constitutional amendments endorsed by Governor Mike Kehoe
Missouri voters rejected two major constitutional amendments on Tuesday, with Amendment 4 and Amendment 5 both failing to secure the necessary support. Amendment 4, which would have required citizen-led constitutional amendments to receive majority support in every congressional district, was defeated by nearly 80% of the vote. Amendment 5, which proposed a long-term phaseout of the state's individual income tax, was rejected by more than 82% of the vote. Governor Mike Kehoe endorsed both measures, but expressed disappointment at their defeat. Kehoe stated that the failure of Amendment 4 left the state constitution vulnerable to special interests, while the defeat of Amendment 5 showed that voters preferred to maintain the current income tax system for now. Despite the rejection of these two amendments, Amendment 1 passed, renewing the state's sales tax for parks, and Amendment 2 passed, making the Jackson County assessor an elected position. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and House Minority Leader Ashley Aune criticized the leadership's push for the amendments, with Lucas calling the rejection a 'repudiation of Jefferson City politics' and Aune suggesting that state leaders would pay a political price for the measures.