Missouri Republicans have complete control \u2063over the state’s \u200cgovernment, making it difficult for Democrats to oppose conservative policies. However, the GOP-controlled Senate recently removed language from a measure aimed at preventing noncitizens\u200c from voting to amend\u200b the Missouri Constitution. <\/p>\n

After\u200c the\u200c Supreme Court’s\u2062 decision on\u2062 Roe v. Wade<\/em> and the subsequent enactment of pro-life laws<\/a> in \u2064states \u2062like Missouri, Democrat\u200b activists have\u2062 strategically used the ballot \u200bamendment process to push their radical\u2062 agenda. They have successfully embedded \u2062pro-choice measures in Ohio’s constitution and are now targeting Missouri for \u2062a similar proposal in 2024.<\/p>\n

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In anticipation\u200b of\u200d this ballot measure, SJR 74 aims to raise the threshold\u2064 for amending the Missouri Constitution through initiative petitions. It would require\u2064 a majority of\u200c voters in more than half of the state’s congressional districts to ratify any proposed amendment. Currently, a majority of support from the \u2062electorate is sufficient \u200dfor ratification.<\/p>\n
However, the current version of SJR 74 \u2064is\u200b missing crucial\u2064 language that was originally\u200d included. The original\u2063 version stated that only legal\u2063 residents of Missouri and \u2064citizens of the United States would\u200c be eligible to \u2064vote on constitutional amendments. During the\u200b Senate’s deliberation, Republican Sen. Mike\u200b Cierpiot introduced an amendment to remove the ban on noncitizen \u2064voting, which was ultimately adopted.<\/p>\n
Senate President Pro\u2064 Tempore Caleb Rowden, \u2063who opposed bringing the resolution to the Senate\u2062 floor, supported Cierpiot’s amendment. This decision\u2063 has faced criticism from members of the Missouri\u200c Freedom Caucus (MOFC),\u200b who believe it undermines the state’s republican\u200b form of government. They argue that Democrats are using the ballot amendment process to bypass the will of the people.<\/p>\n
How the Sausage Is Made<\/h2>\n
While Cierpiot introduced the amendment, it was Senate President Pro \u2062Tempore Caleb Rowden who fought against bringing the resolution to the Senate floor. Rowden supported\u2064 Cierpiot’s amendment, which removed the language prohibiting noncitizens from voting on constitutional ballot measures.<\/p>\n
In response\u200d to these actions, MOFC members staged\u2063 a\u2064 filibuster and were subsequently \u200dpunished by Rowden, who stripped \u200dthem of their committee chairs and\u2064 assigned them parking spots far from the Missouri\u200d Capitol building.<\/p>\n
MOFC chair and GOP Sen.\u200c Rick Brattin \u2063described the Senate GOP \u200bleadership’s efforts to undermine constitutional\u2064 ratification reform\u2062 as “nefarious” and emphasized the \u2063seriousness of Democrats’ attempts to manipulate the system.<\/p>\n
The Road \u2064Ahead<\/h2>\n
The\u200b Republican-controlled House is now working\u200c to address the Senate’s \u200bweak resolution. \u200cHJR 86 includes provisions from SJR 74, raising the threshold for ratifying amendments,\u200d and specifies that only “legal\u2064 voters” can vote on \u200bsuch proposals. The measure also prohibits foreign entities<\/a> from sponsoring and contributing to state initiative petitions.<\/p>\n
HJR 86 has passed a House committee and has the support\u2063 of Speaker Dean Plocher. The House will proceed with this legislation, and the Senate \u2063will have the opportunity to consider it.<\/p>\n
MOFC member and Republican Rep. Doug Richey believes there \u200cis an appetite among the \u2062House GOP to include language prohibiting noncitizens from voting on ballot measures in the final resolution. He emphasizes the importance of clear messaging to Missourians about the amendment \u200dprocess and the need to protect the state constitution from manipulation.<\/p>\n
It is evident that\u2063 many “red states” are controlled by establishment Republicans who do not always align with \u200bconservative values. Efforts to reform the system and\u200c preserve the integrity of the constitution are crucial in countering outside\u200b interests.<\/p>\n
House \u200bMajority Floor Leader Jonathan\u2063 Patterson did not respond to inquiries about\u2062 his stance on including a provision prohibiting \u200bnoncitizens from voting in \u2064SJR 74.<\/p>\n
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rnrn <\/p>\n
\u2063How has the recent removal of the ban on noncitizen\u2064 voting \u2062in Missouri been criticized as undemocratic and retaliatory<\/h2>\n
F their committee assignments. The move has been widely criticized as retaliatory and\u2062 undemocratic.<\/p>\n
The \u200ddebate over noncitizen voting rights is not a new one. Advocates argue that everyone\u2064 residing within a country’s \u2063borders should have a\u2062 say in its \u2064governance, regardless of their citizenship\u2063 status. They believe that excluding noncitizens\u2063 from the electoral process is unfair and undermines the principles of democracy.<\/p>\n
Opponents, on the other hand, believe \u2062that voting is a fundamental right reserved for citizens. \u2064They argue that allowing \u200cnoncitizens to \u200dvote would dilute the voice of citizens and potentially influence the outcome of elections. They also raise concerns about the potential for fraud and abuse in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
In the case of Missouri, Democrats see an opportunity to push their pro-choice agenda<\/a> by targeting \u2062the state’s \u2063constitution. By embedding pro-choice measures in the constitution, they hope to make it more difficult for conservative lawmakers to enact \u200dpro-life legislation in \u200cthe future.\u2062 This tactic, while strategic, has drawn criticism from Republicans who argue that\u200c it undermines \u200bthe democratic\u2062 process.<\/p>\n
The current version of SJR 74, the measure aimed at raising the threshold for amending\u2063 the Missouri Constitution, is missing language that would have limited voting on constitutional amendments to\u2062 legal \u2064residents and \u200ccitizens of the United States. This omission has been\u2063 met with concern from Republicans\u2064 who argue that it opens the door for noncitizen voting.<\/p>\n
The decision to\u200d remove the ban on noncitizen voting has\u2064 faced backlash from members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, who\u200c believe it undermines the state’s republican form of government. They \u200bargue that allowing noncitizens to\u200c vote on constitutional amendments is a breach of the democratic process and bypasses\u2063 the will of the people.<\/p>\n
The actions of Senate President Pro\u2062 Tempore Caleb Rowden in supporting the amendment and punishing MOFC members\u2062 who staged a filibuster have been met with widespread \u200ccriticism. Many view these actions as undemocratic and retaliatory, further undermining \u2063the principles of democratic governance and open debate.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, the debate over noncitizen voting rights \u2062in Missouri highlights the ongoing tensions between Democrats \u200cand Republicans in the state. \u200dWhile \u200dDemocrats strategically use \u2063the ballot amendment process to push their\u200c agenda, Republicans argue that it undermines the will of the people and bypasses the\u2063 democratic process.\u200b The recent removal of language banning noncitizen\u2064 voting from SJR 74 has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from\u200c both sides. \u200cThe ultimate impact of these actions on \u2062Missouri’s democratic \u200bprocesses \u200cremains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Missouri’s GOP dominance in the governor’s mansion and state legislature makes it tough for Democrats to hinder conservative policies. Surprisingly, the GOP-controlled Senate removed language from a measure aiming to bar noncitizens from voting and amend the state constitution. This move comes after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2193215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/MissouriCapitol.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2193214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/MissouriCapitol.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2193214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2193214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2193215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2193214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2193214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2193214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}