Letter: Amendment 7 would limit Missourians' future choices in elections

Missouri Amendment 7 is a deceptive ballot item to allow legislators in Jefferson City to choose how everyone in the state votes.

Currently, elections are won by the candidate with the largest share of votes, but not necessarily with a majority. For instance, a candidate could win a five-way primary with just 30% of the votes, meaning 70% of voters preferred other options.

Alternative voting systems exist and are widely used elsewhere. Many European countries employ "ranked-choice voting" and it's being used increasingly in U.S. jurisdictions. It allows voters to rank multiple candidates with automatic run-offs to ensure the ultimate winner has majority support. In St. Louis city, "approval voting" enables voters to support multiple candidates they like.

Regardless of the system chosen, it should be the voters' choice to decide how they want to cast their ballots and have the results tallied. Amendment 7 would prevent that (though with an exception for the St. Louis system already in place.)

Right now, Missourians can vote on changing the system they will use, but Amendment 7 will eliminate that power. To persuade voters to relinquish their right to determine their voting process, the amendment includes an inconsequential provision specifying that it's unconstitutional for undocumented immigrants to vote. This is redundant, as such voting is already illegal and there has been no move by anyone to change that.

Missourians should reject Amendment 7 to preserve their ability to choose their voting methods.

Michael Rosen

St. Louis