Bills to curtail Missouri petition process would prevent most from filing | Opinion
People power
On Wednesday, hundreds of Missourians gathered in Jefferson City to protest the actions by our elected representatives who have reversed decisions that were made by majority vote. The disdain our politicians show us is clear.
Our 2026 Missouri legislative session began just two weeks ago, and already several bills have been filed that take aim at our right to use the initiative petition process to get issues on the state ballot that our elected officials would not offer. H.B. 1750 would require a $10,000 filing fee to begin the process, and H.J.R. 116 would limit petitions to 75 words.
In Missouri, we have had the right of citizen initiative petition for more than 100 years. Why, now, do they feel the need to eliminate it?
Respect Missouri Voters at RespectMOvoters.org is working hard to save this right. Since July, more 1,000 volunteers in all parts of our state have gathered more than 100,000 signatures from voters who agree that this cross-partisan process should be preserved.
When so many people feel powerless and that their voices are irrelevant, now is the time to preserve our precious right to be heard. Join me in working to save the citizen initiative petition process in our great state.
- Ann Hayles, Raymore
Way it works
After my parents split up, they both eventually remarried. Many people don’t like their stepparents, but mine were both very lovable and intelligent people. Over the years, I became very comfortable and fond of them to the point of feeling I had four parents.
Sadly, as time passed, both my stepparents suffered from Alzheimer’s, and they went from being bright engaging people to mere shadows of their former selves. My biological father developed dementia and became very difficult and at times irrational. He passed away at age 92, then a few months later, my very functional mother had a massive stroke and became profoundly disabled. She spent her remaining three years in a nursing home.
I tried to support them all any way I could, but with old age and illnesses, only so much is possible.
All of us should be aware that we will one way or another become less capable as we age. The concept seems to escape many in positions of power, much to the detriment of populations worldwide.
- Armand Way, Topeka
Kansas’ needs
Our immigration policy is hideous. The meatpacking industry in Kansas would be devastated if all undocumented immigrants were deported. It is time to issue work visas to gainfully employed, properly vetted immigrants who have been here at least five years.
Please support reform of our immigration laws, such as the bipartisan Dignity Act proposed by Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas.
- Robert J. Blanck, Kansas City