JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As a coalition of abortion-rights organizations gathers signatures to reverse the state’s abortion ban, some Republican lawmakers want to make it harder for voters to change the state’s constitution.
The initiative petition process is how voters legalized recreational and medical marijuana and expanded Medicaid. The organizers of those campaigns were required to gather more than 171,000 signatures to put those questions on the ballot.
Republicans said it’s now more important than ever to increase the threshold of voters needed to approve a referendum, but those in opposition believe this is an overreach of government.
“We believe that the voices of all Missourians deserve to be heard,” Missouri Voter Protection Coalition director Denise Lieberman said.
For three hours Monday, members of the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee heard dozens of pieces of legislation that would ask voters if it should be harder to approve an initiative petition.
The full article is available at ozarksfirst.com.
(Story by Emily Manley, ozarksfirst.com)
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