Deceptive Amendment 7 would take power from Missourians and give it to politicians | Opinion

It’s officially election season and we all know what that means: It’s time to look out for politicians trying to pull a fast one and take away your voice.

For example, beware of the sneaky Missouri Amendment 7, which uses something that’s common sense — prohibiting noncitizens from voting — to candy-coat a poison pill and distract from all the other things it would do to make elections less representative of all of us.

What makes this amendment especially devious is that there’s actually no need for it. Noncitizen voting is already illegal in Missouri elections. Our laws are working: There is no evidence of noncitizen voting, here or anywhere.

The amendment would also prohibit two other things we don’t currently have in Missouri: ranked choice voting and open primaries. It would also require plurality primaries — meaning that elections can be won with just a small fraction of votes any time there are multiple candidates.

And that’s where this amendment just doesn’t make any sense. It would ban two of the things Americans value most: choice and majority rule.

Ranked choice voting produces a majority winner, saves money and incentivizes elected leaders to focus on problem-solving versus politics. Military voters in Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina already use ranked choice voting for elections that go to runoffs, because it’s difficult for our troops to receive and return a second mail ballot on time. Why would we want to ban something that can protect the voice of those who protect our freedoms?

Should voters ever wish to move from a costly and inefficient two-round system to a more modern single round with ranked choice, we should be able to make that decision. It’s silly to take that freedom away.

It would be just as foolish to ban open primaries and require a plurality winner. Why should Missouri be stuck with a system that advances two candidates to a general election when they can’t even win a majority of their own party’s voters in a low-turnout primary?

Many states of all different shades of red, purple and blue — from Nebraska and Alaska to Washington and Louisiana — have found value and the promise of more representative elections with open primaries that lower the temperature of some political campaigns. Again, we don’t use open primaries now, but someday voters might want to consider it. In that case, we ought to have a full airing of all the pros and cons — and then the people of Missouri should decide.

Our vote is our voice. Missourians value choice and the will of the people. Any initiative that goes against such basic values must have a hidden agenda, and should be looked at with deep skepticism.

In this case, the effort is driven by those who would entrench themselves in power while worrying that they can’t win an election with 50%. That’s tricky, deceptive and dangerous. And it’s why we should all vote no on Amendment 7: Because politicians who would take power from the people can’t be trusted to use it on our behalf.