Missouri Secretary of State certifies petitions for several issues, including abortion and sports gambling

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified initiative petitions regarding several issues to appear on the November ballot.

Groups supporting these issues met a May deadline for signatures for the November election, and the secretary of state’s office met its deadlines on Tuesday to ensure enough valid signatures.

The issues approved include:

State Reproductive Health Care (Amendment 3):

• Establish a right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental interference of that right presumed invalid
• Remove Missouri’s ban on abortion
• Allow regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient
• Require the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care
• Allow abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman

Sports Gambling (Amendment 2):

• Allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate licensed sports wagering, including online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts and mobile licenses to sports betting operators
• Restrict sports betting to individuals physically located in the state and over the age of 21
• Allow license fees prescribed by the Commission and a 10% wagering tax on revenues received to be appropriated for education after expenses incurred by the Commission and required funding of the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund

Minimum Wage and Earned Time Off (Proposition A):

• Increase minimum wage January 1, 2025, to $13.75 per hour, increasing $1.25 per hour each year until 2026, when the minimum wage would be $15.00 per hour
• Adjust minimum wage based on changes in the Consumer Price Index each January beginning in 2027
• Require all employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked
• Allow the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to provide oversight and enforcement
• Exempt governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts, and educational institutions

The Missouri General Assembly added these two items to the ballot for the November election.

Administration of Justice (Amendment 6)

• Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to preserve funding of law enforcement personnel for the Administration of Justice

Ban Illegals’ Right to Vote (Amendment 7)

• Make the Constitution consistent with state law by only allowing citizens of the United States to vote
• Prohibit the ranking of candidates by limiting voters to a single vote per candidate or issue
• Require the plurality winner of a political party primary to be the single candidate at a general election

1 Issue Failed the Signatures Test:

One ballot initiative that did not meet the signature requirements was for a vote to allow casinos to be built on the Osage River at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Voters will decide the issues on November 5. Read the entire text of each of these issues by clicking here.

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