The Missouri Senate voted in favor of legislation Thursday that would make it more challenging to amend the state’s constitution. Essentially, the legislation imposes a higher threshold for ballot initiatives submitted to Missouri voters to succeed in passing constitutional amendments.

The legislation, Senate Substitution (SS) No. 4, is a substitute for Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs) No. 74, 48, 59, 61, and 83. It is an amendment that aims to repeal sections of Article XII of the Missouri Constitution, which pertains to the procedures governing ballot measures submitted to voters. The targeted sections include 2(b) and 3(c), which require a majority of voters statewide to be in favor of a proposed amendment in order to successfully pass a ballot measure.

The new language suggested in SS No. 4 requires that “a majority of the votes…in each of more than half of the congressional districts in the state” must favor the proposed amendment in addition to a general statewide majority. In effect, this means that a majority of voters in five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts would need to favor the proposed amendment for it to win on a ballot initiative. Additionally, SS No. 4 modifies voter-approved constitutional amendments from taking effect 30 days after the election to 31 days after the election.

Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) is the primary sponsor of SS No. 4. On Thursday, the legislation cleared the Senate by a 22-9 vote. It is now before the Missouri House of Representatives, and, if approved, will go before voters later this year. It will only require a general statewide majority to pass.

Thursday’s action comes during a high stakes campaign to get the Missouri Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment on the ballot on November 5. The proposed constitutional amendment concerns “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions.”

President of the League of Women Voters of Missouri Marilyn McLeod criticized SJR 74, an earlier version of the legislation with the same effect. McLeod said, “We need to protect our freedom to determine our future in Missouri, not permanently change our constitution to give up our rights.”

Following the US Supreme Court’s decision to strip the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ballot measures have become a popular mechanism to addressing the issue at the state level. According to an article from independent research source KFF, four states are likely to have “legislatively-referred” initiatives regarding abortion on their ballots in 2024. Another nine states may have “citizen-initiated” initiatives regarding abortion on their ballots in 2024.

Recently, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a referendum to ban most abortions after 14 weeks, which may appear on the state’s ballot in 2024.