Pro & Con: Amendment 1, which would impact lobbying, campaign finance in Missouri

Among the measures Missouri voters will decide on Nov. 6 is Amendment 1: The Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative. It would amend the state constitution to change several aspects of Missouri’s political system.

It would impact, according to the ballot language, the process and criteria for redrawing state legislative districts; the campaign contributions that candidates for state legislature can accept; the gifts state legislators and their employees can accept; at what point state legislators and their employees can serve as paid lobbyists; political fundraising by politicians on state property; and transparency of legislative records and proceedings.

Monday’s St. Louis on the Air brought arguments on both sides of the ballot issue into focus, featuring host Don Marsh’s conversation with proponent Benjamin Singer and opponent Jim Talent during St. Louis Public Radio’s Oct. 24 ballot issues forum. 

Singer’s major points in favor of Amendment 1 were as follows: “Whether it’s [endorsements from] the NAACP, the Brennan Center for Justice, the League of Women Voters, the Campaign Legal Center ... civil rights leaders agree that Amendment 1 will actually make Missouri a leader in protecting minority representation in the legislature.”

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