Missouri Require Approval in Each Congressional District for Citizen-Initiated Constitutional Amendments and Add Provisions on Petition Fraud and Foreign Contributions Amendment (2026)

Missouri Require Approval in Each Congressional District for Citizen-Initiated Constitutional Amendments and Add Provisions on Petition Fraud and Foreign Contributions Amendment
Election date November 3, 2026
Topic Ballot measure process and Ballot measure supermajority requirements
Status On the ballot
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The Missouri Require Approval in Each Congressional District for Citizen-Initiated Constitutional Amendments and Add Provisions on Petition Fraud and Foreign Contributions Amendment is on the ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.

A "yes" vote supports amending the Missouri Constitution to: require voter approval of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in each congressional district, rather than statewide; add language prohibiting foreign nationals and foreign adversaries, as defined, from spending to support or oppose ballot measures, with penalties for violations; and add language regarding penalties for ballot initiative signature petition fraud, among other changes.

A "no" vote opposes amending the Missouri Constitution, therefore: continuing to require voter approval of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments statewide, not in each congressional district;  maintaining existing prohibitions on foreign nationals spending on ballot measures in state law, without adding or expanding them in the constitution; maintaining existing penalties for ballot initiative petition signature fraud in state law, without adding or expanding them in the constitution.

Measure design

Click on the following sections for summaries of the different provisions of the ballot measure.

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Require approval in each congressional district to approve citizen-initiated amendments

The amendment would require that citizen-initiated constitutional amendments receive a statewide majority of votes, and a majority of votes in each congressional district in order to be approved. Currently, in Missouri, constitutional amendments are approved if a simple majority of voters approve the measure.

Prohibit foreign spending in ballot measure campaigns

The amendment would prohibit foreign nationals and foreign adversaries from making contributions or expenditures to support or oppose ballot measures. Political committees would be prohibited from knowingly or willfully accepting contributions from such sources. Violations would be punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, in addition to repayment of three times the amount of the illegal contributions. The Attorney General would have exclusive criminal jurisdiction to prosecute violations.

Under current Missouri law, Revised Statutes §130, violations related to foreign spending in ballot measure campaigns can result in civil penalties, including refunding illegal contributions, disgorging expenditures, and liability for officers or directors if funds cannot be returned. Under current law, courts may also impose statutory damages up to twice the amount of prohibited contributions or expenditures, and up to three times those damages for knowing or willful violations.

Penalties for initiative petition signature fraud

The amendment would define and establish the crime of petition signature fraud for knowingly committing certain acts, such as forging or falsifying signatures, knowingly submitting invalid petitions, or offering money in exchange for signatures. Violations would be punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The Attorney General would have exclusive criminal jurisdiction to prosecute these crimes.

Under existing Missouri law, Revised Statutes §116.090, petition signature fraud is a crime and is classified as a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

Other provisions

The amendment would require the Secretary of State to hold at least one in-person or online hearing on initiative petitions before they are placed on the ballot, with transcripts or summaries made public. It would require that the full text of any initiative petition be provided to voters at the time they receive their ballots, either in printed or digital form, in addition to existing requirements for printing and displaying ballot text.

Text of measure

Constitutional changes

See also: Article III, Missouri Constitution

The ballot measure would add Section 54 to Article III of the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined text would be added and struck-through text would be deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Section 54.

1. This section shall be known as the "Protect Missouri Voters" amendment.

2. For purposes of this section, a statewide ballot measure shall mean any measure submitted or proposed to be submitted to the voters of the state under articles III or XII of this constitution.

3. (1) No political committee that makes expenditures or contributions in support of or in opposition to a statewide ballot measure shall knowingly or willfully receive, solicit, or accept, whether directly or indirectly, contributions from a foreign adversary of the United States or a foreign national. No foreign adversary of the United States or a foreign national shall make any contribution or expenditure in support of or in opposition to a statewide ballot measure. (2) For purposes of this section: (a) A foreign adversary of the United States shall be defined as: a. Any national, provincial, or local government or any entity that is directly or indirectly controlled or owned by a government or that directly or indirectly controls a government or a political party of a foreign country designated as a foreign adversary by the United States Secretary of State from the time such designation is published in the Federal Register until revoked; or b. Any individual who is a citizen of a foreign country meeting the requirements of subparagraph a of paragraph (a) subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section and who is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident; (b) A foreign national shall be defined as any individual who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States of America. (3) Any violation of this subsection shall be punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to one thousand dollars or both, plus an amount equal to three times the illegal contributions. The attorney general shall have exclusive criminal jurisdiction. (4) The general assembly may by law: (a) Enact laws to implement the restrictions of this subsection, or enact further restrictions to implement this subsection; (b) Enact restrictions on foreign support for or opposition to Missouri ballot measures; (c) Enact reporting requirements regarding foreign support for persons or committees that oppose or support ballot measures; and (d) Provide for the investigation and enforcement of the provisions of any such enactments, or of this subsection including, but not limited to, criminal penalties or civil remedies.

4. (1) Any person who commits any of the following acts with respect to a petition on a statewide ballot measure is guilty of the crime of petition signature fraud: (a) Signs any name other than his or her own to any petition, or who knowingly signs his or her name more than once for the same measure for the same election, or who knows he or she is not at the time of signing or circulating the same a Missouri registered voter and a resident of this state; (b) Intentionally submits petition signature sheets with the knowledge that the person whose name appears on the signature sheet did not actually sign the petition; (c) Causes a voter to sign a petition other than the one the voter intended to sign; (d) Forges or falsifies signatures; or (e) Knowingly accepts or offers money or anything of value to another person in exchange for a signature on a petition. (2) Any person who knowingly causes a petition circulator's signatures to be submitted for counting, and who either knows that such circulator has violated subsection 1 of this section or, after receiving notice of facts indicating that such person may have violated subsection 1 of this section, causes the signatures to be submitted with reckless indifference as to whether such circulator has complied with subsection 1 of this section, shall also be deemed to have committed the crime of petition signature fraud. (3) The crime of petition signature fraud shall be punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to one thousand dollars or both. The attorney general shall have exclusive criminal jurisdiction to prosecute under this section.

5. At a reasonable time and place after an initiative petition is submitted with signatures and before a petition is placed on a ballot, the secretary of state or the secretary's designee shall conduct one or more in-person or web-based hearings to receive additional public comment regarding the purpose and effect of the proposed measure. Transcripts or summaries of the hearings shall be made available to the public no later than seven days after the hearing is conducted and before the petition is placed on the ballot.

6. Notwithstanding Sections 51 and 52(b) of this article and Article XII, Section 2(b) of this constitution, statewide ballot measures to amend the constitution that are proposed by initiative petition are approved only if affirmative votes are cast by a majority of voters in each congressional district in effect at the time of the vote.

7. The full text of any statewide ballot measure proposed by the initiative shall be made available to each voter, either legibly printed on paper or in digital format, at the time a ballot is made available to the voter for voting. This requirement is in addition to, and does not replace, all other printings and displays of the full text and the ballot title required under this constitution or by law. The secretary of state is expressly authorized to promulgate rules consistent with rule making authority under Missouri law to implement and administer the provisions of this subsection.

8. The provisions of this section are self-executing. All of the provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or unconstitutionally enacted, the remaining provisions of this section shall be and remain valid.

Path to the ballot

Amending the Missouri Constitution

See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the Missouri House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Missouri State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

House Joint Resolution 3 (2025)

Rep. Ed Lewis (R) introduced the constitutional amendment into the Missouri House of Representatives as House Joint Resolution 3 (HJR 3) on September 3, 2025. The constitutional amendment moved through the legislature between September 3, 2025 and September 12, 2025.

• September 4, 2025: The Missouri House Elections Committee read the bill and passed it by 10-5, sending it to the House Legislative Oversight Committee.

• September 5, 2025: The Legislative Oversight Committee passed the amendment by 7-3, sending it for the full vote in the House.

• September 8, 2025: The Missouri House of Representatives amended HJR 3, approving the amended resolution by 96-58.

• September 9, 2025: The House approved the amendment by 98-58, sending it to the Missouri State Senate.

• September 11, 2025: HJR 3 was read in the Local Government and Elections Committee and passed the committee, being sent to the Senate for the final vote.

• September 12, 2025: The Senate voted to pass the amendment by 21-11. The amendment was sent to Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R).

Partisan Direction Index = +93.7% (Republican)

Democratic Support

0.0%

Republican Support

93.7%

Missouri House of Representatives

Voted on September 9, 2025

Votes Required to Pass: 82
	Yes	No	NV
Total	98	58	3
Total %	61.6	36.4	1.8
Democratic (D)	0	52	0
Republican (R)	98	6	3

Missouri State Senate

Voted on September 12, 2025

Votes Required to Pass: 18
	Yes	No	NV
Total	21	11	2
Total %	61.7	32.3	5.8
Democratic (D)	0	9	1
Republican (R)	21	2	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Missouri

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Missouri.

How to vote in Missouri

Poll times

In Missouri, all polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Missouri, one must be 18 years old, a United States citizen, and Missouri resident. An applicant may print an application, pick one up from a county clerk's office, or request that an application be mailed. The completed application must be returned by mail. All returned applications must be postmarked at least 27 days prior to Election Day in order to be processed. An applicant may also register to vote online.

Automatic registration

Missouri does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Missouri has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Missouri does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Missouri, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify the length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Voters may file change-of-address forms after the registration deadline, up to and including Election Day, provided that they can present photo identification upon doing so.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Missouri does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Missouri Secretary of State's office allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Missouri requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

The following were accepted forms of identification as of April 2023. Click here for the Missouri Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

Voters can present the following forms of information:

• A nonexpired Missouri driver or non-driver license;
• A nonexpired military ID, including a veteran’s ID card;
• A nonexpired United States passport; or
• Another photo ID issued by the United States or the state of Missouri which is either not expired or expired after the date of the most recent general election.

If a voter does not have an ID, he or she can obtain one for free by filling out this form.

See also

2026 measures

• 2026 ballot measures
• Campaign finance on the ballot
• Ballot measure supermajority requirements on the ballot

Missouri

• Missouri ballot measures
• Missouri ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• HJR 3 Text (2026)

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