4 of 6 statewide ballot measures gain approval

Last edited 2:06 p.m., Nov. 25, 2024 [Editor's note: Clarifying language has been added about Amendment 6, and information on a handful of local ballot issues has been included. Updated information about a Dade County measure is now included.]

Missourians on Tuesday weighed in on six statewide ballot issues, comprising five constitutional amendments and one proposition.

Four of the measures got approval from voters, election results show.

Amendment 2
By a narrow margin, Missouri voters gave the green light to Amendment 2, the measure that legalizes sports gambling in the state.

The vote tally shows 50.1% in support and 49.9% opposed, according to data pulled from a Missouri Digital News election results aggregating tool.

With the passage, Missouri joins 38 other states and the District of Columbia to allow some form of sports betting, according to past reporting. The amendment changes state law to allow people in Missouri over 21 years old to place bets on professional and collegiate sports games in casinos and online apps.

The sports betting industry is slated to be regulated by the Missouri Gaming Commission, the agency that also oversees the state’s 13 casinos. The ballot issue sets the tax rate on betting revenue at 10% – a number that can’t be amended without another constitutional amendment.

According to the fiscal note from the state auditor’s office, tax revenue could reach up to $28.9 million annually. The state Gaming Commission estimates the total adjusted gross revenue for sports wagering in Missouri will be $63.5 million for its first year – or roughly $6.3 million from the gaming tax; $179.7 million for its second year – nearly $8 million in gaming tax; and $245.6 million in year three, which would bring in roughly $24.5 million from the gaming tax.

By year five, the state estimates sports betting could generate nearly $29 million in gaming tax revenue. Of that total, $5 million would be designated for a fund that addresses gambling addictions. The remaining money is for public schools and higher education, proponents say.

In Greene County, 55.3% of voters opposed Amendment 2, according to the unofficial election results from the county clerk’s office.

Proposition A
Election results show 57.6% of voters were in favor of Proposition A.

The measure will increase the state's minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2025, to $13.75 per hour, with an increase of $1.25 per hour in 2026, bringing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, according to the ballot language. Thereafter, the minimum wage would again be adjusted each January based on the CPI.

Proposition A also includes a requirement that all employers provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by an employee, according to the ballot language. Enforcement and oversight would be by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts and educational institutions would be exempt from these requirements, the ballot language states.

Proposition A was favored by roughly 55% of Greene County voters.

Amendment 3
The approval of Amendment 3 with 51.7% of the vote would provide rights associated with reproductive health care, including abortion care and birth control, according to the ballot language.

The amendment would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability with exceptions to protect the life or health of the mother. Opponents sought to keep abortion illegal in Missouri, with some exceptions for medical emergencies, following a trigger law implemented in the Show Me State in June 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to past reporting.

The vote in Greene County showed nearly 51% in opposition.

Amendment 5
Voters rejected Amendment 5 with 52.4% voting "no" on the measure.

Passage of the amendment would have permitted the Missouri Gaming Commission, the state agency responsible for regulating gambling, to issue an additional license for a gambling boat to operate on the Osage River near the Lake of the Ozarks, according to past reporting. It also would have increased the state’s number of gambling boat licenses to 14.

Amendment 6
The amendment, added to the ballot by the Missouri General Assembly, was rejected by 60.6% of statewide voters.

It would have put into place a provision in the Missouri Constitution to include the levying of fees to support salaries and benefits for law enforcement personnel, including elected county sheriffs and prosecutors.

The amendment would have reinstated a $3 court fee – added to criminal cases in 1983 – to fund the retirement system for sheriffs. The fee was removed in 2021 after it was deemed unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Retirement benefits for prosecutors also were included, through a $4 court fee.

Amendment 7
Election results show 68.5% of voters gave the OK to Amendment 7, which changes the state’s constitution to explicitly limit state voting rights to U.S. citizens in Missouri and ban ranked-choice voting in future elections.

The change makes the Missouri Constitution consistent with federal laws that expressly prohibit noncitizen voting.

In ranked-choice voting, voters rank their first, second and third choices – or more, if necessary – for candidates or ballot issues. If no candidate earns a majority, ranked-choice voting would help decide a winner and eliminate the lowest-ranked candidates until there is a winner.