Ballot Initiatives

At a rally on Thursday, Amendment 3 supporters said they expect legal challenges from legislators who oppose abortion.

The nonbinding advisory referendums, which include Madison County, are seen by advocates as a way to quantify discontent with the direction of Illinois’ state government. Critics say actually forming a new state is far-fetched.

The results are nonbinding, but lawmakers may consider them when proposing policy.

Proposition A would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 and require companies to provide paid sick leave for workers.

The campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment plans to appeal the decision, and as part of the judge’s stipulations, Amendment 3 will not yet be taken off the ballot

If approved by Missouri voters, the development would include a hotel, convention center, restaurants and other attractions.

Missouri could be the first test of a more aggressive strategy to keep abortion off the ballot and out of the state constitution.

Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages held a Jefferson City rally as it submitted 210,000 signatures to the Secretary of State.

More than $10 million — much of it from outside the state — has been raised to push proposals for abortion rights, sports wagering and to raise the minimum wage in Missouri.

Ballot initiatives are one way for voters to assert their power over the political whims of Missouri's state legislature or courts. They are often viewed as more stable and harder to undo.