November 5th General Election Proposition Guide
The ballot for the November 5th General Election promises to be a long one. In addition to the Presidential race and all of the statewide offices up for election, there are several state and local amendments and propositions that are equally important. Below I’ll walk through my thinking on each of these amendments and propositions.
Constitutional Amendment 2 — VOTE NO
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 seeks to amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize sports betting. There is a strong case to be made to legalize sports betting — namely that legalizing, regulating, and taxing “sins” like gambling tend to make for better public policy than prohibiting and allowing unregulated industries to exist. Where this proposal falls flat is on its promise to fund education. While proponents of the amendment say collected revenue will go toward education, there’s nothing in the proposal that spells out if these funds will supplement the state’s education budget. Rather, it is likely that the Missouri General Assembly will cut the state’s current education budget equal to the amount of revenues brought in by this amendment. Vote no.
Constitutional Amendment 3 — VOTE YES
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3 seeks to reverse Missouri’s restrictive abortion ban, which banned abortion in all cases including in cases of rape and incest. Amendment 3 seeks to legalize abortion until the point of fetal viability. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, fetal viability depends on many complex factors; weeks of gestation alone cannot definitively determine viability. This underscores why medical decisions must be made by individuals and their physicians — not politicians.
While there is a lot of misinformation circulating about Amendment 3, the fact of the matter is that Amendment 3 only pertains to enshrining the right to reproductive health into our constitution by including access to abortion, contraception, and IVF.
Missouri was the first state in the country to enact a total abortion ban when Roe vs. Wade was overturned. Now it’s up to us to be the first to repeal a total ban on abortion. Vote yes!
Constitutional Amendment 5 — Vote No
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 5 asks voters to approve a gaming license for a casino at the Lake of the Ozarks on the Osage River. Missourians — long restricted to sites along the Missouri or Mississippi rivers for casino gambling — will decide whether to add another river to that list during the Nov. 5th election. The additional casino would be located on the Osage River, near the Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks, on the south side of U.S. 54. The plan also includes a hotel, a convention center, restaurants, and other attractions. It would override a state law that only allows 13 casino licenses by adding a 14th dedicated to the Osage River proposal.
With that said, there are two dueling proposals for casinos at Lake of the Ozarks. Amendment 5 is sponsored by and would support the construction of Bally’s Casino. The Osage Nation is also working on a casino proposal, which requires authorization from the federal government.
I’m inclined to support the Osage Nation over a big corporation. Vote no.
Constitutional Amendment 6 — Vote No
Amendment 6 was added to the ballot via a bill passed by the Missouri legislature. Amendment 6 would include a provision in the Missouri Constitution to levy fees to support salaries and benefits for law enforcement personnel, including sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, former prosecuting attorneys, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.
This provision essentially ties law enforcement pensions to the volume of fees collected through the criminal justice system — thereby creating incentives for law enforcement to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions, and other procedures in the criminal justice system to fund pension allocations.
Public servants deserve adequate, reliable pension funding. Fees are extremely difficult to collect, making them an unreliable and improper source of law enforcement funding. Fees also disproportionately fall to the poor, are unlikely to be paid, and are linked to higher rates of recidivism. Pensions should be funded with adequate, stable funding — not on the backs of poor Missouri residents. Vote no.
Constitutional Amendment 7— Vote No
Amendment 7 is a sneaky amendment that can only be characterized as a bait and switch. It seeks to do two things:
- Ban non-citizens from voting in Missouri elections — something that is already illegal in Missouri — and
- Ban rank choice voting and open primaries in Missouri.
The ban on non-citizens voting is what’s known as “ballot candy.” It’s intended to disguise a poison pill and distract from efforts to make elections less representative (the actual intent of the amendment.)
The election office tallies the number of voters who selected each candidate as their top pick. If no candidate wins the majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are reallocated based on the voters’ preferences. This process repeats until one of the candidates has a majority.
In the end, a candidate can only win the election if the majority of voters prefer them over their opponents. This is often seen as a more democratic way of conducting elections because it requires candidates to appeal to a wider swath of voters. We should encourage rank-choice voting, not banning it. Vote no.
Missouri Proposition A — Vote Yes
Missouri Proposition A would guarantee paid sick leave for the over 700,000 Missouri workers who cannot access leave. Under the proposal, Missouri would join 15 states that require employers to provide paid sick leave. The United States, unlike nearly every other country, lacks federal paid sick leave, so states, as well as cities, have taken the lead.
If we learned anything from the pandemic, it should be that workers should stay home when they’re sick — both for their health and for the health of others. Moreover, workers shouldn’t have to choose between a paycheck and their health — a reality that incentivizes many hourly workers them to go to work sick.
Prop A also gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The current minimum wage in Missouri is $12.30 per hour or $492 per week before taxes. This isn’t enough to rent a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in Missouri.
Proposition A is a no-brainer. Vote yes.
St. Louis City Proposition B — Vote Yes
Prop B (sponsored by 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge) expands the Board of Aldermen’s role in the City’s annual budget process. Currently, the Board can only decrease or cut line items in the budget. It cannot balance the budget by reallocating cuts from one line item to another. This amendment would empower the Board to increase or add items so long as the budget remains balanced. The Board would not have the authority to change line items fixed by statute or for payments towards the city debt or ordinance obligation. The Mayor would retain the power to sign or veto the Board’s recommended budget.
Most legislatures — including the St. Louis County Council, the Missouri General Assembly, and the U.S. Congress — have significant budget authority both as a way of counterbalancing the executive branch’s power and giving the public (by way of their elected representatives) the ability to influence how their tax dollars are spent.
As our process currently stands, the city’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment presents a budget each fiscal year which the Board of Aldermen has two months to review and approve. Despite gathering public feedback on how residents want their tax dollars to be spent, the Board can only suggest budget cuts; it doesn’t have the authority to reallocate funding. Granting the Board authority to reallocate funding — while maintaining a balanced budget — ensures that public input directly influences the budget process. Vote Yes.
St. Louis City Proposition T — Vote Yes
Prop T (sponsored by 9th Ward Alderman Michael Browning) creates a Department of Transportation to oversee street planning, design, engineering, and maintenance.
Last year, reckless driving killed 54 people in St. Louis City. In a previous issue of my newsletter, Deep Dive, I described how street design shapes how we move through our city. For several decades, we’ve prioritized driving over other forms of transit. Wide rights of way, unprotected bike lanes, poor sightlines, and insufficient crossings make traveling dangerous for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and those with mobility issues.
As it stands, our city designs and engineers its streets across many different decision-making departments including the Streets Department, the Board of Public Service, the Parks Department, the Planning and Urban Design Agency, and non-governmental partners like TrailNet and Bi-State Development. Housing all responsibilities related to road maintenance, design, and upgrades under one roof would streamline planning and coordination, help clear existing bureaucratic roadblocks, and shrink timelines between concept and implementation — all without costing jobs.
St. Louis City Proposition V — Vote Yes
Prop V (sponsored by 6th Ward Alderwoman Daniela Velázquez) removes the current $500.00 cap on fines for violations of city ordinances related to non-owner occupied, deteriorating properties.
The Charter sets a strict maximum for fines levied by the City. Eliminating this cap and establishing fines by city ordinance will not be used as an enforcement mechanism on owner-occupied housing. Rather, it would allow the City to aggressively pursue negligent property owners who hold numerous vacant and/or dilapidated buildings.
Presently, there are about 25,000 vacant lots and buildings in the City. Even without considering the negative impact on neighborhood pride, these eyesores have a detrimental effect on the property values of surrounding properties. Holding negligent or absentee landlords accountable plays a major role in stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging development — both of which increase desirability and property values for existing homeowners.
Issuing fines for vacant properties is an effective way to incentivize developers to create more affordable housing, vibrant small businesses, and institutions that anchor neighborhoods. Vote Yes.
St. Louis City Proposition S — Vote Yes
Prop S (sponsored by Alderman Narayan) would set a 3% fee per occupied night on short-term rental properties, like Airbnb and Vrbo. This is a user fee paid by the person making the booking or reservation, not the host or owner of the rental property. At least 50% of the collected fees will be deposited in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; the remaining proceeds will fund other housing initiatives such as relocation assistance or counsel eviction defense. Studies indicate that short-term rentals play a role in increasing housing costs, thus dedicating the funds to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund are way to offset this negative impact of short-term rentals.
Last year the Board of Aldermen passed legislation to create regulations on short-term rentals in the city. Those regulations go into effect in November. The addition of the 3% fee is a continuation of that work and efforts to make housing that works for everyone. Vote yes.
Candidates on the Ballot
In addition to the aforementioned endorsements, it’s imperative to vote for the Democrat running for every office in order to protect abortion rights, support living wages and paid leave, and ensure that we have free and fair elections. If Missouri votes to approve Amendment 3, but elects a republican Governor, US Senator, Secretary of State, and/or Attorney General, then the fight to enact Amendment 3 will continue. Additionally, Republic leadership will require us to fight against the future erosion of abortion and reproductive health rights. Democrats believe that patients and their doctors should be making healthcare decisions, not politicians. To protect the freedom to choose if, when, and how to have a family, please vote for every Democrat on the ballot.
Judges on the Ballot
There are two Missouri Supreme Court judges that I encourage voters to vote against retaining. Ginger Gooch and Kelly Broniec put partisan politics above the law by working to keep Amendment 3 off the ballot. These two judges also blocked an agreement between the Prosecuting attorney and Marcellus Williams to stop his execution on the grounds that new evidence showed he was likely innocent. As a result, in September of 2024, Missouri likely executed an innocent man. Death is final. New evidence deserved to be heard. Neither judge deserves to be retained.
Where to Vote
No-Excuse Absentee Voting & Vote Anywhere No-Excuse Absentee Voting is an in-person voting option for all voters during the two weeks leading up to each election. Registered voters can cast their ballots in-person starting October 22nd through November 5th at the select locations throughout the city.
These locations are open Tues–Sat from 10am–4pm & Monday from 12–4pm:
BUDER LIBRARY 4401 HAMPTON AVE.
CARPENTER LIBRARY 3309 S. GRAND BLVD. DIVOLL LIBRARY
4234 N. GRAND BLVD. KINGSHIGHWAY LIBRARY 2260 S. VANDEVENTER AVE.
SCHLAFLY LIBRARY 225 N. EUCLID AVE.
WOHL CENTER 1515 KINGSHIGHWAY BLVD.
WALNUT PARK 5760 W. FLORISSANT AVE.
ELECTION BOARD HQ 300 N. TUCKER
Voters registered in the City of St. Louis can cast their vote at their designated polling location or at any voting center between 6 AM and 7 PM on Election Day. To find a polling place near you visit the St. Louis Board of Elections website.
