‘Fraud on the voters’? + What SNAP freeze means for Kansas and Missouri

Hello, Star readers.

Today, we’re diving into the details of a new lawsuit that characterizes Missouri’s upcoming direct democracy ballot measure as a “fraud on the voters.”

Next, we’ll get into:

• Hungry Thanksgiving?: Food pantries in Kansas and Missouri are seeking donations to help families that won’t receive November SNAP benefits because of the government shutdown.

• Voter guides: Check out The Star’s overview of next week’s municipal and school board elections in Johnson County and Wyandotte County. Plus, there’s a big change on the ballot in Jackson County.

This week in politics

A legal challenge to the 2026 direct democracy ballot question was filed in Cole County by Missourians for Fair Governance, a campaign group formed by the Missouri Association of Realtors.

The lawsuit takes aim at a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would make it virtually impossible for most citizen-led amendments to pass on the ballot and drastically curtail the state’s initiative petition process.

“The citizen initiative process is a power Missouri voters approved for themselves more than a century ago, which our association has been able to use to fight for Missouri homeowners and families,” said Bobbi Howe, the president of the realtors group. “We are committed to protecting the rights and the availability of this important tool for everyone.”

The realtors argue that the ballot measure, called Amendment 4, misleads voters by burying its true intent — the direct democracy overhaul — under other bullet points. Three of those bullet points are already laws, the lawsuit said.

The group is asking the court to require a rewrite of the ballot language and the wording displayed at polling sites.

Currently, citizen-led initiatives need a simple majority (50% plus one) in order to pass. Under the proposed legislation, they would require both majority support statewide and a majority in each of the state’s eight congressional districts to pass.

Read the full story from my colleague Kacen Bayless.

More from this past week

• Jackson County residents who signed the anti-gerrymandering petition twice technically committed a misdemeanor offense. But they won’t be prosecuted.

• A Kansas City fire captain is facing harassment and assault charges after he allegedly hit an on-duty colleague from behind at a KC Current match. He kept his job and rank.

• As the Royals appear to be inching closer to a stadium move, my colleague Kacen dug up records that suggest Gov. Mike Kehoe is ramping up talks with the Chiefs and Royals.

Looking for more?

• For more politics news, follow @bymatthewkelly.bsky.social, @kacen.bsky.social, and @grice1911.bsky.social.

• Want to read more newsletters from The Star? You can subscribe to our free daily newsletters, the Morning Rush or the Afternoon Catch-Up.

That’s all for now! See you next week.

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up here. If you’d prefer to unsubscribe from this newsletter, you can do so at any time using the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this message.

This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM.