The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has filed a lawsuit to stop a disingenuous, out-of-state effort to upend Missouri’s political system. If successful, the Missouri Chamber’s legal challenge will remove Amendment 1 from the Nov. 6 statewide ballot. This would spare Missourians from having to decide whether or not to approve this deceptive amendment to the state’s constitution.
Amendment 1 is an attempt by billionaire activist George Soros to tinker with Missouri’s constitution and redraw the lines that define how Missouri is divided into state House and Senate districts. If Amendment 1 passes, it could lead to a radical shift in priorities in the Missouri General Assembly, opening the door to higher taxes and more bureaucratic regulation. It could also reverse long-running efforts to make our state business friendly and competitive for growth and investment opportunities.
“It should be appalling to every Missourian that an outside billionaire is trying to rewrite our constitution and meddle with the very rules that govern the balance of power in our state capitol,” said Daniel P. Mehan, Missouri Chamber president and CEO. “The way Amendment 1 is being sold to the public could deceive many Missouri voters into supporting what appears on the surface to be an effort to improve state government. On the contrary, Missourians need to understand that this is essentially a coup attempt being powered by a billionaire activist with sophisticated marketing tools. But in their limited understanding of Missouri, the outside supporters of Amendment 1 drafted their amendment in such a way that should invalidate it for the November ballot.”
The Missouri Chamber’s legal challenge to Amendment 1 focuses on how the language bundles together several different issues into a single ballot item. This is not allowed under the Missouri Constitution. Judges have ordered similarly-drafted amendments to be removed from ballots in the past. The Missouri Chamber is hopeful Missouri courts will side with its legal challenge and remove Amendment 1 from the ballot.
