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Missouri Amendment 7, Require Citizenship to Vote and Prohibit Ranked-Choice Voting Amendment (2024)
| Missouri Amendment 7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Voting policy measures and Electoral systems | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Missouri Amendment 7, the Require Citizenship to Vote and Prohibit Ranked-Choice Voting Amendment, was on the ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.[1] The ballot measure was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to:
|
A "no" vote opposed this amendment, thereby maintaining that "all citizens of the United States" who are 18 years of age or older may vote in elections and that ranked-choice voting may be enacted at the local or state level via ordinance or state statute. |
Election results
See also: Results for ranked-choice voting (RCV) and electoral system ballot measures, 2024
See also: Results for voting-related and noncitizen voting ballot measures, 2024
Missouri Amendment 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 1,966,852 | 68.44% | ||
| No | 906,851 | 31.56% | ||
Overview
How did the amendment affect election policy in Missouri?
- See also: Text of measure
Citizenship voting requirement The measure amended the Missouri Constitution to add language stating that "Only citizens of the United States, including occupants of soldiers' and sailors' homes, over the age of eighteen who are residents of this state and of the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people." As of 2024, the constitution stated, "All citizens of the United States..."[1]
Prohibit ranked-choice voting The amendment also established that each voter has one vote per issue or open seat. The amendment prohibited the ranking of candidates. It also prohibited top-two primaries, top-four primaries, and other similar electoral systems. It required primary elections in which only one candidate from each political party, the one who received the most votes, advanced to the general election. The amendment further specified that the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes at the general election would be declared the winner. This did not apply to any nonpartisan municipal election in effect as of November 5, 2024, such as in St. Louis, where approval voting was used.[1]
What did other state constitutions say about suffrage and citizenship?
In 1996, the U.S. Congresspassed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. Federal law did not address state or local elections.[2]
As of 2024, all state constitutions mentioned United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship states who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens") but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. In seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio) the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not noncitizens, have the right to vote. No state constitutions explicitly allowed noncitizens to vote in state or local elections. Since 2018, constitutional amendments to state that only a citizen (rather than every citizen) may vote were approved in six states.
Which states prohibited ranked-choice voting?
As of October 2024, 10 states — Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee — enacted legislation banning the use of ranked-choice voting statewide. The prohibitions were enacted via state statute.
As of 2024, RCV was used statewide in three states — Alaska, Maine, and Hawaii (in certain statewide elections). Fourteen other states contained localities that either used or were scheduled to begin using RCV in municipal elections. To see the status of RCV in each state, click here.
Did other states vote on similar measures in 2024?
- See also: Background
Bans on noncitizen voting at the state level had become more frequent since 2018. Voters in six states approved ballot measures banning noncitizen voting from 2018 to 2022. In 2024, eight state legislatures referred constitutional amendments to the ballot to prohibit the state or local governments from allowing noncitizen voting. The eight states were Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Voters approved each constitutional amendment.
Jack Tomczak, Vice President of Americans for Citizen Voting, which supported the ballot measures, said, "We, and legislators who sponsor these, are getting ahead of fixing a problem that maybe has not reared its head as much in these states. It’s not like it’s happening everywhere and it must be stopped immediately. But preemption is not a bad thing." Jonathan Diaz, Director of Voting Advocacy for the Campaign Legal Center, said, "These proposed constitutional amendments are aimed really at two things: preventing local governments in those states from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections, and advancing this false narrative that non-U.S. citizens are somehow participating in U.S. elections in large numbers, which is totally unsupported by any evidence or facts."[3]
As of 2024, municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont, along with Washington, D.C., allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections. In November, voters in Santa Ana, California, decided on a ballot measure to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[4]
| “ | Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings. [5] | ” |
Ballot summary
The official ballot summary was as follows:[4]
| “ | A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to specify that only United States citizens are entitled to vote, voters shall only have a single vote for each candidate or issue, restrict any type of ranking of candidates for a particular office and require the person receiving the greatest number of votes at the primary election as a party candidate for an office shall be the only candidate for that party at the general election, and require the person receiving the greatest number of votes for each office at the general election shall be declared the winner. This provision does not apply to any nonpartisan municipal election held in a city that had an ordinance in effect as of November 5, 2024, that requires a preliminary election at which more than one candidate advances to a subsequent election. A “no” vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution to make any changes to how voters vote in primary and general elections. If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes. [5] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VIII, Missouri Constitution
The measure amended Sections 2 and 3 of Article VIII and add one new section, Section 24, to the Missouri Constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted:[1]Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the text below to see the full text.
Section 2.
AllOnly citizens of the United States, including occupants of soldiers' and sailors' homes, over the age of eighteen who are residents of this state and of the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people, if the election is one for which registration is required if they are registered within the time prescribed by law, or if the election is one for which registration is not required, if they have been residents of the political subdivision in which they offer to vote for thirty days next preceding the election for which they offer to vote: Provided however, no person who has a guardian of his or her estate or person by reason of mental incapacity, appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction and no person who is involuntarily confined in a mental institution pursuant to an adjudication of a court of competent jurisdiction shall be entitled to vote, and persons convicted of felony, or crime connected with the exercise of the right of suffrage may be excluded by law from voting.
Section 3.
- 1. All elections by the people shall be by paper ballot or by any mechanical method prescribed by law.
- 2. Voters shall have only a single vote for each issue on which such voter is eligible to vote. Voters shall have the same number of votes for an office as the number of open seats to be elected to such office at that election. Under no circumstance shall a voter be permitted to cast a ballot in a manner that results in the ranking of candidates for a particular office. Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, this subsection shall not apply to any nonpartisan municipal election held in a city that had an ordinance in effect as of November 5, 2024, that permits voters to cast more than a single vote for each issue or candidate on which such voter is eligible to vote.
- 3. All election officers shall be sworn or affirmed not to disclose how any voter voted; provided, that in cases of contested elections, grand jury investigations and in the trial of all civil or criminal cases in which the violation of any law relating to elections, including nominating elections, is under investigation or at issue, such officers may be required to testify and the ballots cast may be opened, examined, counted, and received as evidence.
Section 24.
- 1. The person receiving the greatest number of votes at a primary election as a party candidate for an office shall be the only candidate for that party for the office at the general election. The name of such candidate shall be placed on the official ballot at the general election unless removed or replaced as provided by law.
- 2. The person receiving the greatest number of votes at the general election shall be declared the winner.
- 3. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, this section shall not apply to any nonpartisan municipal election held in a city that had an ordinance in effect as of November 5, 2024, that requires a preliminary election at which more than one candidate advances to a subsequent election.[5]
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.
The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 10, and the FRE is 41. The word count for the ballot title is 69.
The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 21, and the FRE is 21. The word count for the ballot summary is 168.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Sen. Ben Brown (R)
- State Rep. Ben Baker (R)
- State Rep Brian Seitz (R)
- Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R)
- State Treasurer Vivek Malek (R)
Former Officials
- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Preserve Local Elections led the campaign in opposition to the amendment.[6]
Opponents
Officials
- State Rep. Eric Woods (D)
- Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas
Organizations
Arguments
Media editorials
- See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements
Support
Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials in support of Amendment 7. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opposition
Campaign finance
Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of the amendment. If you are aware of any committees, send information to editor@ballotpedia.org.[7]
Preserve Local Elections was the campaign registered to oppose the amendment.
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $1,651.57 | $0.00 | $1,651.57 | $3,561.60 | $3,561.60 |
| Total | $1,651.57 | $0.00 | $1,651.57 | $3,561.60 | $3,561.60 |
Opposition
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees that opposed the measure.[7]
| Committees in opposition to Amendment 7 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Preserve Local Elections | $1,651.57 | $0.00 | $1,651.57 | $3,561.60 | $3,561.60 |
| Total | $1,651.57 | $0.00 | $1,651.57 | $3,561.60 | $3,561.60 |
Media editorials
- See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements
Support
The following media editorial boards published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org
Opposition
The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:
Polls
- See also: 2024 ballot measure polls
- Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Missouri Amendment 7, Require Citizenship to Vote and Prohibit Ranked-Choice Voting Amendment (2024) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Opinion Strategies | 09/04/2024-09/09/2024 | 600 RV | ± 4.0% | 62% | 29% | N/A% |
| Question: "The following is a ballot measure that voters in Missouri will be asked to vote on in the upcoming November election. The measure reads: Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to; Make the Constitution consistent with state law by only allowing citizens of the United States to vote; Prohibit the ranking of candidates by limiting voters to a single vote per candidate or issue; and Require the plurality winner of a political party primary to be the single candidate at a general election. Now, if the election were being held today, would you vote Yes to approve or No to reject this ballot measure?" | ||||||
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.
Background
Ranked-choice voting
As of April 2025, ranked-choice voting is used in some states and localities across the United States. See the map, tables, and list below for further details. The numbers below do not include states where RCV is used by a political party for partisan primaries, or where military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots for runoff elections. For more information on these uses of RCV, see the table beneath the map below.
If you know of any additional U.S. localities using RCV that should be included here, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.[8]
- RCV used statewide: Three states use RCV statewide. Alaska and Maine use RCV in federal and statewide elections. Hawaii uses RCV in certain statewide elections.
- RCV used (or scheduled for use) in some localities: Fourteen states contain localities that either use or are scheduled to begin using RCV in municipal elections.
- RCV prohibited: Fourteen states have adopted law prohibiting the use of RCV in any elections.
- No laws addressing RCV, not in use: Twenty-two states have no laws addressing RCV, and neither the state nor any localities in the state use it.[9]
The map below shows which states use ranked-choice voting statewide or in some localities as of March 2025. It also shows the states where RCV is either prohibited or not addressed in the law. It does not show states where RCV is used by a political party for partisan primaries, or where military/UOCAVA voters use ranked ballots for runoff elections. See the table beneath the map for details on these uses of RCV.
States prohibiting RCV
As of June 2024, the following 10 states — Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee — enacted legislation banning the use of ranked-choice voting statewide. For more information on anti-RCV legislation, read more in Ballotpedia News.
St. Louis Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (2020)
In November 2020, St. Louis voters approved Proposition D with a vote margin of 68.2% to 31.8%. Proposition D made elections open and nonpartisan for the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen and changed the primary election system from plurality voting to approval voting. An approval voting system is an electoral system in which voters may vote for any number of candidates they choose. In St. Louis, the top two candidates in the primary would compete in a runoff election.[10]
Citizenship voting requirement ballot measures
From 2018 to 2024, voters decided on 14 ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting. Voters approved all 14 measures.
Partisanship of legislative votes on referred measures
In 14 states that placed constitutional amendments on the ballot to require citizenship to vote in state and local elections, Republican legislators supported the amendments, averaging 99.7%. In all but one state—South Dakota (2025)—every Republican legislator voted in favor; in South Dakota, 95.3% supported the amendment. Democratic support varied between states, averaging 42.1% and ranging from 0% in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin to 100% in Alabama (2020) and Iowa (2024).
State constitutions on suffrage and citizenship
All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 43 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship says who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. In seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio) the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not noncitizens, have the right to vote.
Path to the ballot
Amending the Missouri Constitution
- See also: Amending the Missouri Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the Missouri House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Missouri State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 78
The amendment was prefiled on December 1, 2023. The Missouri State Senate voted 24-9 to pass the amendment on April 9, 2024. The Missouri House of Representatives passed the amendment on May 17 by a vote of 97-43 with 22 present or not voting. Both votes were along party lines.[11]
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Lawsuit
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Whether the ballot question is accurate | |
| Court: Missouri 19th Judicial Circuit Court | |
| Ruling: Ballot language is accurate and fair. | |
| Plaintiff(s): Elizabeth de Laperouse and Eric Bronner | Defendant(s): Rep. Dean Plocher (R), Sen. Caleb Rowden (R), Sen. Ben Brown (R), and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) |
Source: Missouri 19th Judicial Circuit Court
Elizabeth de Laperouse and Eric Bronner filed a lawsuit in the Missouri 19th Judicial Circuit Court, saying that the ballot language was imprecise, because it was already illegal for noncitizens to vote in the state. On August 12, Circuit Judge Cotton Walker ruled that the ballot language was fair and accurate.[12]
How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Missouri
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Missouri.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.01.11.21.3Missouri State Senate, "Missouri SJR78," accessed May 18, 2024
- ↑Cornell Law School, "18 U.S. Code § 611 - Voting by aliens," accessed March 26, 2020
- ↑NBC News, "GOP efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting extend to state ballot measures," September 14, 2024
- ↑ 4.04.1Missouri Secretary of State, "2024 Ballot Measures," accessed August 28, 2024
- ↑ 5.05.15.2Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑Vote No Ranking Ban, "Home," accessed August 5, 2024
- ↑ 7.07.1Missouri Ethics Commission, "Ballot Measures by Election Search," accessed May 21, 2024
- ↑Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center, "Where is RCV Used," accessed January 17, 2023
- ↑Michigan is included in this category despite numerous local jurisdictions approving the use of RCV. Although Michigan does not explicitly prohibit the use of RCV, state election laws prevent the implementation of RCV. One jurisdiction in the state, Eastpointe, did use RCV between 2019-2023 as a result of federal enforcement under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The jurisdictions of Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Kalamazoo, East Lansing, and Royal Oak have all authorized the use of RCV and plan to begin using the election method if legislation providing the state's authorization is signed into law.
- ↑STL Approves, "Petition," accessed June 9, 2020
- ↑Missouri State Senate, "SJR78," accessed May 18, 2024
- ↑Democracy Docket, "Circuit Court Ruling," accessed November 14, 2024
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State - Elections and Voting, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ 14.014.114.2Missouri Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑ 15.015.115.2NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 27, 2024
- ↑BillTrack50, "MO HB1878," accessed April 4, 2023
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "FAQs Voter Registration," accessed August 27, 2024
- ↑Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "How To Vote," accessed August 27, 2024
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "Do I need an ID to vote?" accessed April 3, 2023
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