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Capitol Building - Jefferson City, Missouri
Campaign Launch Event in Jefferson City
April 21st from noon to 3 pm - Capitol Building 1st Floor Rotunda
At noon, 1 pm, and 2 pm, Government by the People founder and spokesperson, Winston Apple, will make a brief presentation about two elegantly simple, yet incredibly powerful, pro-democracy reforms that will make Missouri a Perfect Democracy.
An opportunity for questions and comments will follow each presentation. Petitions will be available to sign. Blank petitions and support materials will be available for anyone wanting to join the campaign.
For those who want to keep the conversation going...
Attendees who want to continue the conversation (or just grab a bite to eat) after the rally are invited to gather at Arris' Pizza (117 West High Street, Jefferson City - Right across the street from the Capitol).
RSVP
For more information about this event, or to let us know that you plan to attend, please visit our Facebook Event Page.
Volunteer to help at this event:
If you would like to help gather signatures on petitions and distribute support materials during the event, please let us know by using the Contact Form on this website or by sending an email to info@governmentbythepeople.org. Thank you.
There is only one form of government where “all political power is vested in and derived from the people.” Democracy. And when the acts of a government that “originates from the people” and is “founded upon their will only” are “instituted solely for the good of the whole”, it is a Perfect Democracy.
An amendment to the Missouri Constitution, that was enacted in 1908, gave the people of Missouri the power “to propose and enact or reject laws and amendments to the constitution by the initiative, independent of the general assembly” and “to approve or reject by referendum any act of the general assembly”. [Missouri Constitution, Article III, Section 49.] Referendums vest political power in the people. The initiative gives the people the power to originate legislation.
In recent years, the people of Missouri have used the initiative to enact legislation the General Assembly refused to pass (including two separate increases in the minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, and the “Clean Missouri” ethics reform) and used the veto referendum to repeal an anti-worker, anti-union, so-called “right-to-work” bill that was passed by the General Assembly.
The problem with referendums and the initiative in Missouri (and every other state that has them) is that the process is far more difficult than it should be – requiring petitioners to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures. And petitioners must gather far more than the number required because election officials routinely reject a significant number of signatures for a variety of reasons, with no requirement that they prove the signatures were not valid.
In a true democracy, proposals should be put on the ballot through the initiative whenever it appears likely that a legislative body has failed to enact legislation that has the support of a majority of the citizens and veto referendums should be called whenever it appears that a legislative body has enacted legislation that does not have the support of a majority of the citizens.
Some of the politicians in the General Assembly are unhappy that the people of Missouri have the power to originate legislation and reject bills they pass. They want to amend the Missouri Constitution to make it more difficult for citizens to call referendums or use the initiative. If they succeed, it will be a serious setback for democracy in Missouri.
When it comes to defending democracy, an adage commonly associated with sports and warfare applies – “The best defense is a good offense.” We need to do more than fight off attempts to roll back democracy. We need to proactively promote democracy.
We need to enact two elegantly simple, yet incredibly powerful, amendments to the Missouri Constitution that will -
The Perfect Democracy Amendment
The Perfect Democracy Amendment will make it easier to use the initiative and call veto referendums by allowing citizens of Missouri to sign petitions electronically (online).
The Proxies for Citizens Amendment
The Proxies for Citizens Amendment will allow every citizen who is eligible to vote in Missouri to assign a proxy to any member of the Missouri Senate as their senator and any member of the Missouri House authorizing them to vote on their behalf and give every senator and representative a number of votes equal to the number of proxies they have been assigned, plus one for themselves. Proxies can be reassigned at any time. This will allow Politically Active Citizens to vote (indirectly) on legislation being considered by the General Assembly.
Let's Bring Democracy into the 21st Century in Missouri
Provisions requiring the Governor to “establish and maintain systems of Online Accounts for Politically Active Citizens” (and maintain the security of the system and protect the privacy of citizens utilizing the system) are included in both petitions. To address the concerns some people might have regarding online accounts, provisions are also included to allow citizens to continue to be able to sign printed copies of petitions and to assign and reassign proxies by submitting paper forms.
Minor Changes with Major Benefits
Enacting these relatively minor, yet incredibly powerful, pro-democracy reforms will be a major victory for democracy, making the ideals expressed in the opening lines of Missouri Constitution a glorious reality. They will vest political power in the people, make it easy for the people of Missouri to originate legislation, ensure that government is founded upon the will of the people and instituted for the good of all the people of Missouri. The end result will be that, instead of having to use the initiative to occasionally get some legislation the people want enacted – ALL the legislation supported by a majority of the people of Missouri will be enacted – through the legislature, with proxies, or through a modern, efficient initiative process.
Join the Campaign
All that is necessary to Make Missouri a Perfect Democracy is for enough Politically Active Citizens to sign two initiative petitions and then vote "yes" on those two reforms.
Communication is vital within a broad-based grassroots movement and to make direct democracy as effective as possible in a nation as large as the United States. To facilitate communication, we encourage you to provide your email address, join the “Government by the People” group on Facebook, follow “Government by the People” on X,
A political action committee (Perfect Democracy) has been formed to finance and facilitate the implementation of this plan. The acronym PAC ordinarily stands for "Political Action Committee". Perfect Democracy is developing a different kind of PAC - "Politically Active Citizens". We also encourage you to make a contribution to Perfect Democracy to help fund our campaign.
Our Action Plan - Missouri
An Army of Petitioners
If we gather the required number of signatures by May 3, 2026, these proposals will be on the ballot in Missouri on November 3, 2026. The first order of business is to recruit an army of volunteers to gather the required number of signatures. The more petitioners we have, the better.
A Coalition of Pro-Democracy Organizations
We are in the process of reaching out to a large number of pro-democracy organizations in Missouri, encouraging them to join a broad based, nonpartisan, coalition in support of the Perfect Democracy Amendment and Proxies for Citizens. The results of our initial efforts have been extremely encouraging.
Missouri - The "Allow Us to Demonstrate State"
Missouri is one of eighteen states where the state constitution can be amended through the initiative process. As the first state to have initiative petitions for a Perfect Democracy Amendment and Proxies for Citizens submitted and approved for circulation, Politically Active Citizens in Missouri have the honor of being in the vanguard of the movement to Make America a Perfect Democracy.
Missouri has long been nicknamed “The Show Me State”. When the people of Missouri enact two extremely powerful pro-democracy reforms and reap the blessings of making Missouri a Perfect Democracy, they will demonstrate the blessings that will flow from uniting in support of Our Ideals and living up to Our Ideals, Missouri will be the “Allow Us to Demonstrate State”.
Our Action Plan is a work in progress. Feedback, input from volunteers, and suggestions for improving Our Action Plan are welcomed and encouraged.
The work of making our government our own -
Petitions for these proposed reforms have been approved for circulation. If we gather the required number of signatures by May 3, 2026, these proposals will be on the ballot in Missouri on November 3, 2026. If approved by voters, these amendments to the Missouri Constitution will make the vision of democracy expressed in the opening lines of our Constitution a glorious reality.
The Full and Exact Text of the Perfect Democracy Amendment:
Text being added is underlined. [Text being deleted is in brackets].
Be it resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the Constitution be amended:
Article III of the Constitution is revised by amending Section 50 to read as follows:
Section 50. Initiative petitions proposing amendments to the constitution shall [be] have paper copiessigned by, or electronic statements of support submitted by, eight percent of the legal voters in each of two-thirds of the congressional districts in the state of Missouri, and petitions proposing laws shall [be] have paper copies signed by, or electronic statements of support submitted by, five percent of such voters. The governor shall facilitate electronic filing of statements of support by establishing and maintaining a system of Online Accounts for Politically Active Citizens. The governor shall be responsible for ensuring the security of that system and ensuring the privacy of citizens utilizing that system. The secretary of state shall create a suitable form for electronic statements of support and make that form available to citizens. Every such petition or statement of support shall be filed with the secretary of state or be submitted electronically not less than six months before the election and shall contain an enacting clause and the full text of the measure. Petitions for constitutional amendments shall not contain more than one amended and revised article of this constitution, or one new article which shall not contain more than one subject and matters properly connected therewith, and the enacting clause thereof shall be “Be it resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the Constitution be amended:”. Petitions for laws shall contain not more than one subject which shall be expressed clearly in the title, and the enacting clause thereof shall be “Be it enacted by the people of the state of Missouri:”.
The Full and Exact Text of the Proxies for Citizens Amendment:
Text being added is underlined. [Text being deleted is in brackets].
Be it resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the Constitution be amended:
Article III of the Constitution is revised by amending Sections 1 and 22 to read as follows:
Section 1. (a) The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and house of representatives to be styled “The General Assembly of the State of Missouri.”
(b) To ensure that all political power in Missouri is vested in and derived from the people and founded upon the will of the people only, from and after January 2, 2027, each citizen of Missouri who is eligible to vote shall be able to assign one proxy to any member of the Missouri senate, authorizing that senator to cast votes on their behalf, and one proxy to any member of the Missouri house of representatives, authorizing that representative to cast votes on their behalf. Members of the General Assembly shall cast a number of votes equal to the number of proxies they hold, plus one vote for themselves, on all matters that are voted on in their respective houses, including votes taken in committees and on procedural matters.
(c) Citizens of Missouri may assign their proxies either electronically, through a system of Online Accounts for Politically Active Citizens, or by means of a written (paper) proxy. Citizens may reassign a proxy at any time.
(d) The governor shall establish and maintain a system of Online Accounts for Politically Active Citizens to facilitate the assigning and reassigning of proxies electronically. The governor shall be responsible for ensuring the security of that system and for ensuring the privacy of citizens utilizing the system.
(e) On or before January 2, 2027, the Secretary of State shall create and make available to citizens of Missouri, both electronic and paper versions of a proxy form, a form for citizens to use to reassign their proxies, and a form for citizens to submit to notify the secretary of state if they move out of the state of Missouri or are no longer eligible to vote. When so notified, the Secretary of State shall void their proxies. The Secretary of State shall be responsible for promptly voiding the proxies of citizens who are no longer eligible to vote in Missouri due to being incarcerated or deceased. The Secretary of State shall be responsible for notifying citizens, in the manner in which they have indicated they prefer to be notified, when a legislator to whom they have assigned a proxy vacates her or his office for any reason.
(f) The General Assembly shall pass legislation providing penalties for forging or falsifying proxies, for offering money, or any other thing of value, to influence a citizen with regard to the assignment of their proxies, and for accepting money, or any other thing of value, in exchange for the assignment of a proxy.
Section 22. Every bill shall be referred to a committee of the house in which it is pending.
After it has been referred to a committee, [one-third of] the elected members of the respective houses by a vote of one-third or more shall have power to relieve a committee of further consideration of a bill and place it on the calendar for consideration.
Each committee shall keep such record of its proceedings as is required by rule of the respective houses and this record and the recorded vote of the members of the committee shall be filed with all reports on bills.
Each house of the general assembly may provide by rule for such committees of that house as it deems necessary to meet to consider bills or to perform any other necessary legislative function during the interim between the session ending on the thirtieth day of May and the session commencing on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January.
Instructions for Petitioners in Missouri
Our website has been updated since this video was produced. Some of the links are different, but the video contains the same information as printed below.
Election officials around the state may reject signatures for a variety of reasons. We recommend taking advantage of both formats: watch the video and read the instructions carefully before circulating petitions to ensure the signatures you collect will be counted.
Instructions for Petitioners in Missouri
Please read carefully before circulating petitions to ensure the signatures you collect will be counted.
Qualifications for petitioners: Petition circulators must be at least eighteen years of age. You do not have to be a resident of the state of Missouri to circulate petitions, but you must have the signature pages you turn in notarized in the state of Missouri. You may not circulate petitions if you have been convicted of, found guilty of, or pled guilty to an offense involving forgery.
To facilitate good communication, please make sure to provide your email address. You can use the “Join the Campaign” link at the bottom of each page on this website, use the Contact Form on this website or send an email with the subject line “I am circulating petitions” to: info@governmentbythepeople.org. You may also send an email to this same address if you have any questions or concerns.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING INITIATIVE PETITIONS FOR CIRCULATION
Before you begin gathering signatures, fill in the name of the county for each page in four of the five spaces provided: in the upper right corner; in the two spaces in the paragraph that begins “We, the undersigned registered voters of the state of Missouri….” and in the paragraph just below the signature block.
In the space provided just above the signature block (the Circulator’s Affidavit) – Fill in your name, but not the county in which the page will be notarized. (Wait to make sure where you will have it notarized.) The signature pages must be notarized before you turn them in. They can be notarized anywhere in the state but must be notarized in Missouri.
DO NOT fill in the page number. Pages must be collated by county before they are numbered to avoid duplication of page numbers. Our field organizers will add page numbers prior to submitting all of them to the secretary of state’s office.
DO NOT sign your own petition (sign a page being circulated by someone else). DO NOT sign your name as the affiant (the person obtaining signatures) until you are having the pages notarized.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR GATHERING SIGNATURES ON INITIATIVE PETITIONS
Only registered Missouri voters can sign these initiative petitions. When asking someone to sign the petition, begin by asking if they are a registered voter in the state of Missouri. (If they are not registered, encourage them to register, but do not allow them to sign.) Then ask them for the name of the county where they are registered to vote. Make sure they sign a page for that county. Encourage signers to sign their name exactly as it is on their voter I. D. card and to write legibly. (And to stay within the lines.)
ERRORS: If someone makes an error, the signee should put a single line through the entry and put their initials next to the strikethrough, then sign again below. If you catch the error later, you may draw a single line through the entry. Wait to initial it until you are having the page notarized.
Each petition page may only contain signatures of voters from a single county. If you are obtaining signatures from voters from more than one county, you must have a separate signature page for each county. Signatures of voters who do not reside in the county indicated in the upper right corner will not be counted. You should keep a single copy of both petitions on a separate clipboard for each county.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING COMPETED AND NOTARIZED PETITIONS
Before you turn in petition pages, be sure to have them notarized. You should be able to get them notarized at your bank, without charge. We also have volunteers who are notaries. If necessary, send an email to info@governmentbythepeople.org and ask about notaries in your area (and to get information regarding where to turn in your notarized petitions).
GET COMFORTABLE EXPLAINING OUR PROPOSALS TO POTENTIAL SIGNERS
It is very important for you to be comfortable explaining, and answering questions about, our proposals. The Perfect Democracy Amendment and the Representation for All Amendment involve concepts that may be unfamiliar to some people. Most people will want to understand what is being proposed before they sign our petitions. Videos explaining each of these proposals are posted on the Government by the People website. There is also a great deal of additional information regarding our petitions, including the full and exact text of each petition posted on the Government by the People web site. Please make use of these resources to ensure that you can explain our proposals and answer questions about them. If you have questions that are not answered in the videos or on the web site, please send an email to info@governmentbythepeople.org.
Number of Signatures Required
Note: For a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution to be placed on the ballot, initiative petitions for the proposed amendment must be signed by eight percent of legal voters in at least six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.
Volunteer Resources
On the "Volunteer Resources" page on this website you will find downloadable PDFs of:
- The full exact text of both of our ballot proposals.
- The signature page for both ballot proposals.
- An overview of both proposals (to be taped to the back side of a legal size clipboard when circulating petitions).
- A flyer with additional details regarding our ballot proposals.
The material on this website is adapted from a soon to be published book: Government by the People: A Citizen's Guide to Making America a Perfect Democracy by Winston Apple.
Content is Copyright 2025 Gary Winston Apple, unless otherwise noted..
Permission is granted to share with proper attribution. All Rights are Reserved.
This website is paid for by Perfect Democracy - a 501(c)4 political action committee.