Abortion, minimum wage, sports gambling and more could be on 2024 Missouri ballots

Missouri has two big elections coming up: a primary on Aug. 2, and the general election on Nov. 5.

While many big-name candidates and positions will be up for election, including Missouri’s governor, U.S. representatives and the president, Missourians will also see questions on both ballots that could change state laws — and even the state’s constitution.

These ballot questions could invite voters to weigh in on controversial issues, from police funding and sports gambling to abortion and the statewide minimum wage. But some haven’t been fully approved for the ballot yet.

So what questions will you encounter when you arrive at the polls? Here’s a quick guide to all the ballot initiatives expected to appear this year in Missouri.

What ballot questions will Missouri voters see in August?

Two questions have been approved for statewide inclusion on August’s primary ballots in Missouri:

Property tax exemption: This measure would allow counties to make child care facilities exempt from paying property taxes . This includes both real property, like homes and buildings, and personal property like vehicles.

KCPD funding: This is a new vote on a 2022 measure that would increase funding for the Kansas City Police Department from 20% to 25% of the city’s budget . That comes out to an additional $38.7 million from Kansas City taxpayers.

The KCPD is the only local police department in Missouri overseen by a state board and with state control of its budget. That’s why the entire state has a say in whether Kansas City specifically should have to put more of its own money toward policing.

If this ballot question sounds familiar, that’s because Missourians have voted on it before, in November 2022. A recent decision by the Missouri Supreme Court found that the original version of the question didn’t properly disclose the costs associated with the measure. Now it’ll be back in voters’ hands in August.

What ballot questions will Missouri voters see in November?

There are two measures already guaranteed to be on Missouri voters’ ballots this November.

Court fees for pension funds: This measure would allow the state’s court system to charge defendants “costs and fees” in order to pay into the pension funds of sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys. Proponents argue that their pensions have been underfunded since a state Supreme Court case ruled that these two positions didn’t count as “the administration of justice.”

The ballot language reads: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to preserve funding of law enforcement personnel for the administration of justice?”

State Senator Rusty Black , who represents northwestern Missouri, sponsored the bill that put this question on the ballot. He told The Star that the fees would only be charged to people found guilty of crimes and those who accept plea deals in the state.

The fees are limited by state law to $3 for sheriff pension funds and $4 for prosecuting attorney pension funds per defendant. They can also be waived if a judge decides the defendant cannot pay. A “yes” vote would let state courts collect these fees, while a “no” vote would not.

Clarifying voting rules: The second ballot question already approved for November would ban ranked-choice voting in Missouri in most cases, clarify that people who are not citizens of the U.S. cannot vote in Missouri elections and establish that primary elections can only have one winner per party.

State law already states that noncitizens are not allowed to vote in elections. This measure would just add the rule to the state’s constitution by adjusting one word — from “all” citizens to “only” citizens.

Ranked-choice voting is not widely practiced in Missouri, but this measure would ban it except in nonpartisan municipal elections that already use a ranked-choice system. Proponents of ranked-choice voting argue that it allows voters to pick candidates that better align with their beliefs — but Republicans have opposed the practice nationwide.

What Missouri ballot questions are still being certified for the November ballot?

Four additional ballot measures are still awaiting certification for inclusion on Missouri’s November ballot. While the other four on this year’s ballots so far were introduced through legislation, the remaining four are the results of petitions by Missouri residents.

County and state officials are still certifying the hundreds of thousands of signatures submitted for each measure, for which they have an Aug. 13 deadline. We’ll know after that which make the ballot. Here’s a look at each one.

Minimum wage: This measure proposes raising Missouri’s statewide minimum wage to $13.75 per hour in 2025 and $15 per hour in 2026, as well as requiring employers to provide one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Currently, Missouri’s minimum wage is $12.30 per hour and changes each year in line with the Consumer Price Index.

Abortion: This measure would add a section to Missouri’s state constitution enshrining “the right to reproductive freedom,” including access to abortion up until fetal viability as determined by a medical professional. It would also prevent the state from restricting reproductive health care in the future or persecuting those who obtain or provide this care.

If instituted, the measure would undo Missouri’s near-total ban on abortion that went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Sports gambling: This measure would legalize and regulate sports gambling in Missouri, a long-running debate in the legislature .

Riverboat casino: This measure would authorize the state’s gaming commission to issue one more gambling boat license for a specific section of the Osage River between Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks.

How do Missouri residents get questions added to the ballot?

Supporters of citizen-initiated ballot questions in Missouri first must get the specific language of their petition approved by the secretary of state’s office . Then they can gather signatures to petition the state for inclusion of their measure on the ballot.

They need signatures from 5% of the “legal voters” in six out of eight congressional districts to change a statute, and 8% to amend the state constitution. The state counts “legal voters” based on how many people voted in the last governor’s race.

In 2024, petitioners need over 107,246 signatures to propose enacting or overturning a law. The minimum wage proposal falls in this category. Petitioners for the minimum wage proposal have submitted more than 210,000 signatures to the state.

Petitioners need at least 171,592 signatures to propose an amendment to the state constitution this year. The abortion question and the two gambling questions are all being proposed as constitutional amendments.

• Petitioners for the abortion question say they have submitted more than 380,000 signatures to the state.

• Petitioners for the sports gambling question say they have submitted more than 340,000 signatures to the state.

• Petitioners for the riverboat casino measure say they have submitted more than 320,000 signatures to the state.

Once collected, petitioners then submit their signatures to Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office. Ashcroft sends the signatures back out to local election authorities for certification — that involves checking signatures against the county’s voter rolls to verify that they are legitimate.

Local election authorities must return their results to Ashcroft’s office by Tuesday, July 30. The office then has two weeks to review the results and issue a certificate that will officially put the measure on November’s ballots, Missouri Secretary of State Spokesperson JoDonn Chaney confirmed to The Star.

We’ll know for sure which questions will be included after the Aug. 13 deadline.

Do you have more questions about the questions on the ballot in Missouri this year? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com .