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Missouri Voters Reject Amendments 4, 5, Blocking Income Tax Cut

8/6/2026

Center

Missouri Voters Reject

Missouri voters rejected Amendments 4 and 5 in a statewide election on August 4, 2026.
Democrats launched AxeTheHacks.com to display how lawmakers voted on placing the amendments on the ballot, increasing transparency.
Amendment 5, which would have eliminated the income tax, was rejected by 83% of voters.
Amendment 4 would have required citizen-initiated amendments to win a majority in each congressional district.

Left

Missouri Voters Reject

Missouri voters rejected Amendments 4 and 5 in the August 4, 2026 election.
Voters opposed the measures because they would have stripped direct-democracy power and raised taxes on working families, shifting the burden onto low-income households.
Analysts warned Amendment 4 would have blocked five citizen-initiated measures since 2020, including Medicaid expansion.
Amendment 5 would replace the income tax with a higher sales tax, adding about $500 annually.

Blindspot

Analysts said Amendment 4’s district-majority requirement would have blocked the five citizen-initiated measures passed since 2020, including Medicaid expansion, from succeeding.
Within this story's sources, this consequence appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

Voters approved Proposition 13 in June 1978, slashing California property taxes and imposing a two-thirds supermajority requirement for future tax increases. The measure prompted Howard Jarvis to launch the California Tax Reduction Movement, later the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, to defend the law. In November 1978 the Legislature passed Proposition 8 to allow limited reassessments under the new tax ceiling.

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Missouri Voters Reject

Missouri voters rejected Amendments 4 and 5 in a statewide election on August 4, 2026.
Democrats launched AxeTheHacks.com to display how lawmakers voted on placing the amendments on the ballot, increasing transparency.
Amendment 5, which would have eliminated the income tax, was rejected by 83% of voters.
Amendment 4 would have required citizen-initiated amendments to win a majority in each congressional district.

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