There is a name for the type of government founded upon these principles. It’s called democracy. A government that fully lived up to these ideals would be a perfect democracy. The world has yet to see a perfect democracy. Our governments, in Missouri and in America, may have been founded upon democratic principles but we have never truly lived up to them. The opening lines of the Missouri Constitution do not represent the way things are. They do represent the way things should be – and could be.
We see occasional glimpses of perfect democracy in Missouri thanks to an amendment to the Missouri Constitution that was enacted in 1908, which gave the people of the state 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 and the initiative are two powerful forms of direct democracy. Direct democracy is sometimes referred to as “pure democracy” because referendums vest all political power in the people. Every citizen has an equal vote, and a simple majority of the votes determines whether a proposed law or constitutional amendment is approved or rejected. The initiative allows the people to originate legislation.
In recent years, the people of Missouri have used the initiative to enact legislation the General Assembly refused to pass (an increase in the state 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.
Some of the politicians in the General Assembly are unhappy that the people of Missouri have the power to originate legislation and reject bills that they pass. They want to amend the Missouri Constitution to make it more difficult for citizens to call referendums or use the initiative. If these antidemocratic amendments were to be enacted, it would be a significant 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 defend democracy. We need to proactively promote democracy. We need to do more than fight back against efforts to make it more difficult to use the initiative, we need to make it easier to use the initiative. House Bill 2228, which has been filed in the Missouri House by Representative Peter Meredith, would do that by allowing eligible voters to "sign" petitions electronically (online) for referendums and initiatives. House Bill 2228 has one cosponsor: Representative Eric Woods.
Representative Eric Woods has filed a bill providing for Ranked Choice Voting. (House Bill 2244). This bill currently has one cosponsor: Representative Adrian Plank.
Representative Joe Adams has introduced a resolution (House Joint Resolution 80) for a constitutional amendment prohibiting the General Assembly from amending or repealing legislation enacted by the people of Missouri through the initiative unless the proposed changes are approved by voters (by referendum).
This resolution currently has two cosponsors: Representatives Richard Brown and Kemp Strickler.
There are 163 representatives in the Missouri House and 34 senators in the Missouri Senate. We need 82 representatives and 18 senators to support pro-democracy legislation in order to pass a bill or refer a proposed constitutional amendment to the people of Missouri for their approval. Getting pro-democracy legislation passed into law this session is unlikely. But building support for these reforms will help us identify the Champions of Democracy among the members of the General Assembly.
There are currently only six members of the Missouri House who have introduced or co-sponsored pro-democracy legislation. There are almost certainly many more members of the Missouri House and Senate who would vote for this legislation if it was brought to a vote. But pro-democracy legislation is not likely to be brought to a vote during this session of the General Assembly. The false friends and true enemies of democracy are almost certainly in the majority at this point. We need to change that.
Step One of our nation-wide Action Plan has been accomplished in Missouri. Pro-democracy legislation has been introduced. Now we need to build support for these pro-democracy proposals among the members of the General Assembly. Anyone who can make the trip to Jefferson City to lobby our elected officials to support these pro-democracy reforms is encouraged to do so. However, thanks to the Internet, we can also build support for pro-democracy legislation without leaving the comfort of home. The links below will take you to the pages of the Missouri government website where contact information for senators and representatives is posted; where you can see copies and summaries of legislation that has been introduced; where co-sponsors are listed; and where actions taken regarding each bill are detailed.
We need every member of the General Assembly who supports pro-democracy reforms to make their support clear by signing on as cosponsors of these three pro-democracy proposals. We need to thank them when they do. And we need to support the Champions of Democracy among the members of the General Assembly who are seeking re-election this year.
Please contact Representative Peter Meredith and thank him for introducing House Bill 2228 and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2244 and House Joint Resolution 80.
Please contact Representative Eric Woods and thank him for introducing House Bill 2244, for cosponsoring House Bill 2228, and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Joint Resolution 80. Representative Woods is seeking re-election to the Missouri House this year.
Please contact Representative Joe Adams and thank him for introducing House Joint Resolution 80 and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2228 and House Bill 2244.
Please contact Representative Adrian Plank and thank him for signing on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2244 and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2228 and House Joint Resolution 80. Representative Plank is seeking re-election to the Missouri House this year.
Please contact Representative Richard Brown and thank him for signing on as a cosponsor of House Joint Resolution 80 and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2228 and House Bill 2244.
Please contact Representative Kemp Strickler and thank him for signing on as a cosponsor of House Joint Resolution 80 and for being a Champion of Democracy. Encourage him to sign on as a cosponsor of House Bill 2228 and House Bill 2244. Representative Strickler is seeking re-election to the Missouri House this year.
Pro-democracy activists throughout Missouri need to focus on getting as many cosponsors as possible for pro-democracy legislation. State senators will not be able to sign on because the deadline for introducing legislation has passed for the session of the General Assembly. If your representative is not among the six Champions of Democracy (listed above), please contact your representative in the Missouri House of Representatives and encourage her or him to sign on as a cosponsor of all three bills.
If you don’t know the names of your representative in the General Assembly, click here to look them up. Then click on their names to get contact information - their office phone number, email address, and mailing address - and contact them by whatever means you prefer.
Members of the General Assembly understandably respond first and foremost to the voters of their district. However, if you would like to do more:
Contact members of the House Elections Committee and encourage them to hold public hearings on HB 2228, HB 2244, and HJR 80. [There is no link that goes directly to that committee. Go to the Committees page on Mo.gov and then scroll down and click on "Elections and Elected Officials" in the list on the left-hand side of the page under either All Committees or Standing Committees.]. Click on each members name or picture to go to the page with contact information for each member.
Contact other members of the Missouri House (click on names) and encourage them to sign on as cosponsors. Phone numbers are listed on the "Members" page. Click on each representative's name for email address and other information.
The key to victory for democracy in Missouri is to elect Champions of Democracy to a majority of the seats in both the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate. To increase the odds of that happening, we need to have a Champion of Democracy on the ballot in as many House and Senate districts as possible. Three of the six representatives who have introduced or co-sponsored pro-democracy are termed out after this year. So far none of them have filed to run for the Senate or other higher office.
Our goal is to have a Champion of Democracy on the ballot in every district. Since we do not yet have ranked choice voting in Missouri, we need to avoid splitting the pro-democracy vote by having more than one Champion of Democracy on the ballot in each race. Pulling off that delicate balancing act will require communication and cooperation. This website is intended to facilitate communication and cooperation between numerous pro-democracy organizations and individual legislators and activists within a broad-based and inclusive movement.
Identifying Champions of Democracy among non-incumbent candidates is challenging. In Missouri and throughout America most of the candidates for Congress and state legislatures have established campaign web sites. Most candidates have a page on their campaign website identifying the issues they prioritize and their position on each of those issues. Some candidates obviously care about democracy and would support pro-democracy reforms, if elected. However, despite the fact that democracy is clearly under assault, in Missouri and America, very few, if any, candidates mention democracy or pro-democracy reforms among the issues listed on their campaign websites. We need to change that.
Those of us who donate time and/or money to political candidates and/or political organizations need to make our continued support contingent upon candidates posting clear statements of support for pro-democracy legislation on their websites and in their stump speeches.
In Missouri, the filing period for candidates for Congress and the General Assembly opened on February 27th and ends at 5:00 p.m. on March 26, 2024. The deadline for independent candidates to submit petitions to be on the ballot in November is July 29th (at 5 p.m.).
Between now and March 26th, pro-democracy activists need to focus on recruiting Champions of Democracy to run for every office not currently held by a Champion of Democracy. (As the March 26th deadline approaches, if we haven’t found a Champion of Democracy in your district - consider signing up to run yourself.)
Between now and July 29th, pro-democracy activists need to recruit independent candidates to run in districts where there is no Champion of Democracy on the ballot from one of the major political parties and help them gather the signatures needed to get on the ballot in November.
Between now and November 5th, we need to help pro-democracy voters identify the Champions of Democracy on the ballot in their district and make sure they vote on Election Day.
If we elect Champions of Democracy to a majority of the seats in both chambers of the General Assembly, we can enact legislation providing for electronic signatures in 2025.
If we fall short of electing Champions of Democracy to a majority of the seats in both chambers this year, we will file an initiative petition providing for electronic signatures and work to get it on the ballot in 2026.
One way or another, we will enact the legislation needed to make Missouri a perfect democracy. And when we do, it will be an historic achievement.
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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.
This website was created by, is maintained by, and paid for by Winston Apple, Content is Copyright 2024 Gary Winston Apple, unless noted..
Permission is granted to share with proper attribution. All Rights Reserved.
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