In ‘shocking’ move, Missouri governor calls on lawmakers to weaken direct democracy
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday called on state lawmakers to make changes to the state’s initiative petition process, a stunning endorsement of a plan to weaken direct democracy in Missouri.
Kehoe, a Republican, made the announcement in a Friday afternoon special session call ahead of Labor Day weekend. He also ordered lawmakers to gerrymander the state’s congressional districts amid pressure from the Trump administration.
“For far too long, Missouri’s Constitution has been the victim of out-of-state special interests who deceive voters to pass out-of-touch policies,” Kehoe said in a statement. “It’s time we give voters a chance to protect our Constitution.”
Lawmakers will return to the Missouri Capitol next Wednesday at noon to address both issues, setting up perhaps the most explosive special session in recent history over limits to both representative and direct democracy.
The redistricting push was largely expected across Missouri politics as President Donald Trump has pressured GOP lawmakers to gerrymander their states’ U.S. House maps. But Kehoe went a step further with his plan to limit the initiative petition process, which a group of hard-right Republicans has called for in recent weeks.
The effort comes as Republicans have pushed to raise the voter threshold for citizen-led initiatives to pass on the ballot. Currently, measures need a simple majority (50% of the vote plus one) to pass.
Kehoe specifically called on lawmakers to pass legislation that requires statewide ballot measures to receive majority support statewide and in a majority of every congressional district in order to pass.
The more than a century-old mechanism for direct democracy has been utilized by voters of both parties to bypass the General Assembly and put measures to a statewide vote. It’s allowed Missourians to overturn an abortion ban, raise the minimum wage, legalize marijuana, expand Medicaid and legalize sports betting.
The Republican criticism comes as voters have used the process to pass policies seen as progressive. Republicans argue that it’s been too easy for voters to amend the Missouri Constitution and that the current process allows outside interest groups to influence elections.
“This has been something that we have been trying to address for years,” said House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican. “The governor has made the call, so we will also consider this during the special session as well.”
But defenders of the process, which is utilized in more than 20 other states, say it provides a key way for citizens to directly participate in the democratic process. They see it as a tool to get measures passed when the legislature fails to address popular ideas.
Kehoe’s announcement sent shockwaves across Missouri. It came after Republicans recently overturned a voter-approved paid sick leave law and as they pursue a ballot measure to overturn the historic November vote that enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitution.
Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, said the initiative petition process is a crucial tool that allows voters to hold politicians in Jefferson City accountable. Kehoe’s push to include changes to the process in his special session call was “absolutely shocking,” she said.
“Republican politicians in power today do not want Missouri voters to have any power,” Nurrenbern said. “It is absolutely sickening that the governor is trying to take that power away.”
A group of hard-right Republican lawmakers called the Missouri Freedom Caucus, however, has repeatedly pressed on Kehoe to include changes to the process in an upcoming special session.
“Missouri’s constitution should not be up for sale to the highest left-wing bidder,” the group said in a press release last month. “Without immediate reform, left-wing activists will continue to use this loophole to force their unpopular agenda on Missouri citizens with a mere 51% of the vote.”
Missouri Republicans made raising the threshold for amending the state constitution a top priority during the 2024 legislative session. However, Senate Democrats mounted the longest filibuster in state history to block the legislation from coming to a vote.
Republican senators, split amid infighting, were unable to agree on a path forward to halt the filibuster and the session ended without the measure reaching the ballot. Any effort to raise the voter threshold this year will face intense pushback from Democrats, who are likely to filibuster the proposal in the state Senate.
Voters push back
Weakening the initiative petition process is also poised to face pushback from voters, who will ultimately be asked to approve the measure on a future ballot.
Any changes to the voter threshold would likely come as a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution. Therefore, the proposal would have to be placed on an upcoming statewide ballot. The idea has not been popular, even in the staunchly conservative areas scattered across Missouri.
Ahead of the 2024 legislative session, The Star traveled to deep red southwest Missouri to talk with voters about the Republican effort to make it harder to amend the Missouri Constitution.
What emerged from those interviews was a portrait of a region grappling with its own political identity in a state that elects conservative politicians but passes progressive-leaning policies.
One of those voters was Josh Molz from the small city of Galena. Molz said at the time that he considered himself Republican-leaning but also voted in favor of an initiative petition that legalized recreational marijuana.
He told The Star he would oppose any effort to amend the initiative petition process: “I don’t see the reason to change it.”
“I’d like to see politicians pull their head out…or take a look around for a second instead of what’s on the news, what’s going to get them elected,” Molz told The Star. “Stop and just ask somebody what’s important to them.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 4:35 PM.
