HJR3, the “Protect Missouri Voters” amendment, would require a majority of voters in each congressional district to approve initiative petitions to amend the Missouri Constitution.

The House adopted HJR3 on September 9, 2025, by a vote of 98 to 58. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because the initiative and referendum powers in Article III of the Missouri Constitution ought to be repealed. These illegitimate populist loopholes relegate the solemn lawmaking duties of the General Assembly to the will of the masses, replacing the checks and balances of representative government with chaos and instability. Further, it is essential that Missouri raise the standard for proposing and approving constitutional amendments, as its constitution should not be subject to change as a result of a simple majority vote, whether by both houses of the General Assembly and/or electors statewide. The current threshold of a simple majority (50% + 1) is an insufficient safeguard for protecting the rights and liberties of Missourians—in every part of the state—from the “dangers of democracy” or “tyranny of the majority.” Instead, a "constitutional majority" of two-thirds, if not three-fourths, must be required. Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution guarantees to Missouri “a Republican Form of Government,” which means government limited to the “rule of law,” as opposed to the unbridled whims of “majority rule.”