KANSAS CITY – While the amendment proposals were placed onto the summertime primary ballot, more than a million Missouri residents turned out to vote 'No' on Tuesday, overwhelmingly rejecting both Amendments 4 & 5.
See Missouri Primary and Amendment results
Amendment 4 would have made it harder for citizens to amend the state constitution. Amendment 5 would have eliminated the state's income tax.
As KMBC-9 News further explained, Amendment 4 would have required citizen-led constitutional amendments to receive majority support in every congressional district, replacing Missouri's current system that requires only a statewide majority.
Amendment 5 proposed a long-term phaseout of Missouri's individual income tax while allowing lawmakers to expand sales and use taxes to replace the lost revenue.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe endorsed both amendments, championing Amendment 5.
"Throughout this conversation on eliminating the state income tax, we made the case that Missouri should think boldly about its future, challenge the status quo, and pursue policies that make our state more competitive," Kehoe said on social media.
"While Amendment 5 did not earn the support it needed, I believe our work is far from over. I remain committed to working with the General Assembly in the years ahead on ways to continue cutting taxes, growing our state’s economy, and pursuing conservative policies that help Missouri families keep more of what they earn."
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas called Amendment 4's failure a "repudiation of Jefferson City politics" and said this about the defeat of Amendment 5:
"Tonight’s rejection of Amendment 5 is not only an immense failure for statewide leadership, but also a sign to out-of-state billionaire special interests that Missourians and most Americans have no interest in voodoo tax schemes that would spare civic responsibility for a few elites while raising costs on hardworking families in our state and our country," Lucas said.
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Both amendments 4 & 5 failed with more than 80% voting No
Both amendments 4 & 5 failed with more than 80% voting No
