We have four amendments on our Missouri State August primary ballot this year. I am going to explain what the ballot wording means and why there is a controversy on these issues. I recommend that you read the actual amendments and not just what appears on our ballots.

Amendment One is one that we have been voting on every ten years for decades. It approves the renewal of a one-tenth of one percent sales tax for Conservation. This continuing tax has accomplished much for our state.

The next issue is Constitutionally required to allow Jackson County to elect a county assessor. The county has already voted to do this, but the state constitution requires a statewide vote to allow them to do this. This is Amendment 2.

Our General Assembly is asking us to approve Amendment four which will limit our current ability to add issues to the ballot that legislators do not want us to be able to vote on. Advertisements tell us that this will prevent out-of-state groups from influencing our state laws. The problem is that these ads are paid for by Political Action Committees that are registered in other states.

Another provision that concerns many of us is that it requires every congressional district to approve the voter endorsed issues. That means that voters in any one district can defeat every other district’s votes. This is not one person, one vote. It would allow one vote to override hundreds of others.

The only good thing in this bill is the requirement to give voters a copy of the exact wording of every issue that we force them to allow us to vote on. If the legislators put it on the ballot, they control what we can know about what we are voting for. It sounds like they want more control of us.

We are also being asked to allow changes to laws that have been in effect for years. One that we approved is called the Hancock Amendment. When we, the people, voted it in it required our state legislators to ask our permission to raise our taxes above a certain level without our permission.

Amendment five will allow them to ignore this law and do anything they want as they did before we restricted their powers. They tell us they will “phase” out the state income tax and ask us to give them Carte Blanche to add as many sales and use taxes as the legislators want.

This amendment will also allow them to force local property tax cuts without the permission of residents. I usually ask for an issues only ballot in the primary elections. I plan on taking the Republican ballot because my representative and senator that approved these issues are Republicans. They are not representing me, and I want them to be fired.

Once again, the organizations promoting a yes vote are from other states. I think we need a state law that does not allow out-of-staters from lying to us about issues that will make them money at our expense. When the hail hit this spring my wife and I did not allow any of those contractors that are not based here to even quote on our repairs. Why would we want to listen to foreigners when our President is doing such a good job of throwing them out of our country.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger