Opinion: Amd 7 is a trick to rob voters of their power. Vote no.
Missouri may be the "Show Me" State, but the politicians who snuck the deceptive Amendment 7 onto this November's ballot aren't living up to our state slogan.
The politicians behind Amendment 7 are trying to hide something from you. These political insiders claim that the amendment is needed to keep non-citizens from voting in Missouri — but that's already illegal under our state constitution.
In reality, the amendment is a smokescreen to hide what they're really after: maintaining their own power and control via the status quo by restricting voting methods.
Amendment 7 is an unnecessary and deceptive act to preemptively ban reformist voting methods such as ranked-choice voting (RCV), which ensures the eventual victor wins majority (as opposed to merely plurality) support.
Specifically, the amendment limits voters to supporting one candidate each in primaries and in the general election, which would prevent ranked-choice voting and variations of it.
St. Louis' nonpartisan municipal elections already use such a variation, known as " approval voting ": Primary voters can vote for as many candidates as they want, then the two top vote-getters run off in the general election. Since that system is already in place in the city, Amendment 7's creators carved out an exemption for St. Louis, in order to smooth their way to the ballot.
If it passes, voters in the rest of the state will be prevented from even exploring these kinds of reforms in the future. And the amendment's proponents are using the non-issue of non-citizen voting to do it.
Voters should see this scheme for what it is — blatant deception — and vote "no" on Amendment 7 Nov. 5.
Amendment 7 is a last-minute power grab, introduced and rushed through the state Legislature on the final day of its session. But why ban something that doesn't even exist in most of Missouri?
Because RCV and other reforms would give voters more power, through more choice and make our elections more competitive. Too many of our politicians fear the idea of more competitive elections.
Too often in Missouri, a particular office is so "safe" for one party that the winner of the low-turnout primary election is guaranteed to win the general election — even if that candidate beats a crowded primary field with just 20% or 30% of the vote. Any voter who can't get to the polls for the primary has practically no say in the final outcome in almost 90% of our November elections.
It doesn't have to be this way. In states like Nebraska, Louisiana and Alaska, all candidates from all parties run on the same ballot, and the top vote-getters move on to the general election. This reform, sometimes called an "all-candidate" primary, has worked in red, blue, and purple states alike. This November, voters in six more states, including Arizona and South Dakota, will consider moving to such systems. That would give all voters real choices in both the primary and the general election.
But Amendment 7 would effectively preclude such reforms in any jurisdiction in Missouri (outside of St. Louis) by locking the current party-primary system in place. Shouldn't voters get to make that choice, instead of having the decision made for us by career politicians?
Similarly, ranked-choice voting is a simple and proven upgrade to our elections. Voters have the options of voting for multiple candidates and ranking them in order of preference — first, second, third, and so on. If your first choice doesn't win, and no candidate receives a majority, then your vote simply counts for your backup choice.
RCV, sometimes called "instant runoff" voting, produces a majority winner, and gives voters more choices without fear of "wasting" our votes. It encourages candidates to run more positive campaigns, because they want to be the second or third choice of voters who rank one of their opponents first.
RCV is especially good for military voters and veterans. Forty-nine percent of veterans are registered independents who currently have to request and mail back two separate ballots in a matter of weeks to participate in two-round elections. Deep-red states like South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia give their military voters the convenience of ranking their preferences on just one ballot.
These reforms are popular wherever they're used; look at Alaska, where 85% of voters say they found RCV simple. It seems like that's a problem for Missouri politicians, who worry that these reforms may prove a lot more popular than they are.
Politicians shouldn't be afraid of giving voters choices — unless they're afraid of more competition and majority rule. Ultimately, that must be the reason why Amendment 7's backers want to trick Missourians into banning both before we've even had a chance to say "show me."
We should say no to dirty tricks. We should say no to partisan elites and entrenched politicians who take away our power as citizens. For the sake of all Missouri voters, let's say no to Amendment 7.
Bronner is the founder of Veterans for All Voters. He's a U.S. Navy Veteran, lifelong Independent Voter, and has been a Missouri resident since 2005.
