What it does

• Repeals the 2024 voter-approved amendment that created a constitutional right to abortion up to fetal viability.
• Allows abortion only for medical emergencies, rape or incest in the first 12 weeks, and fetal anomalies.
• Lets the legislature again regulate abortion providers and clinics for health and safety.
• Requires informed consent, and parental or judicial consent for minors.
• Bars public funding of abortion except in limited circumstances.
• Keeps care available for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages.
• Bans gender-transition surgeries, cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers for minors, with exceptions for specific medical conditions.

Why it matters now

Since 2024, lawsuits have struck down Missouri's abortion regulations. Surgical abortions resumed in 2025, and abortion pills returned in June 2026 for the first time since 2018.

What isn't obvious

• Watch the number. In 2024, "yes" on Amendment 3 meant abortion rights. In 2026, "yes" on Amendment 3 means protecting life.
• Parental consent and the ban on transition procedures for minors are already state law. Putting them in the Constitution makes them far harder to undo.
• It regulates Missouri providers. It would not by itself stop pills mailed from out-of-state telehealth providers.

Republicans: YesDemocrats: NoLatest poll (SLU, Aug.): 43% yes, 44% no

What it does

• Makes the initiative and referendum process a "fundamental right."
• Allows courts to revise ballot summaries through lawsuits.
• Forbids the legislature from weakening initiative powers.
• Requires at least 80% of both the House and Senate, followed by another statewide vote, before lawmakers can change a law passed by initiative or pass a law similar to one voters rejected by referendum.

What isn't obvious

• Labor unions back it to keep right-to-work from ever returning. It would also lock in the minimum wage, the paid sick leave law, Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization.
• If voters reject Proposition A and pass Amendment 6, a similar congressional map would likely need 80% plus another statewide vote before 2030.

Republicans: NoDemocrats: Yes

What it does

• Creates the "Show-Me Prosperity Fund," a permanent state endowment invested by the State Treasurer in S&P 500 index funds.
• The fund can receive money the legislature sets aside plus gifts, grants and bequests.
• Nothing can be withdrawn until earnings are large enough to replace state taxes. Then yearly withdrawals are capped at 3% of the fund's average value, and the principal can never be spent.
• Once taxes are eliminated, they can't be brought back unless the fund fails.
• No taxes change immediately.

Questions worth knowing

• The amendment doesn't set a dedicated funding source, so deposits would come from existing revenue.

Republicans: Yes (passed the Senate 22–7 on party lines)Democrats: No

What it does

• Requires counties to elect a sheriff every four years, which state law already requires, and moves the sheriff's duties from statute into the Constitution.
• A sheriff could be removed only through a court case (quo warranto) brought by the Attorney General. Today a county prosecutor can also start that process.
• St. Louis city, St. Louis County and St. Charles County are exempt.

What critics say

Opponents argue it makes a bad sheriff much harder to remove, since a court case can take months. Missouri has no recall election for sheriffs either way.

Republicans: YesDemocrats: No

What it does

A yes vote approves the congressional map the legislature passed in 2025. A no vote keeps the districts drawn in 2022.

Good to know

• It doesn't affect this election. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2022 map must be used in 2026, so Prop A decides the districts for 2028 and after.
• The official ballot title says the new map keeps more counties intact. Critics point out that it splits Jackson County into three districts.
• The map is expected to give Republicans one additional U.S. House seat. Missouri Right to Life has endorsed every Republican in Missouri's current congressional delegation.

Republicans: YesDemocrats: No

• 2024: Wrote the 4–3 majority opinion that kept the abortion-rights amendment on the ballot. The three dissenting judges said the measure failed to follow Missouri law on listing the laws it would repeal.
• 2023: Wrote the unanimous opinion rejecting Attorney General Andrew Bailey's higher cost estimate for that amendment's ballot language.
• 2020: Wrote the majority opinion striking down a budget provision that barred Medicaid payments to "any abortion facility," which meant Planned Parenthood had to be paid for its other services. Judge Zel Fischer dissented.
• On the other side of the ledger: he spent 14 years as an assistant attorney general, and in 2015 he dissented when the court threw out a death-row murder conviction.

His defenders say these rulings rested on procedure rather than views about abortion. Missouri Right to Life says he consistently sides with the pro-abortion position and recommends a no vote.

• Former Jackson County prosecutor; later handled civil and criminal cases for the Missouri Attorney General. Parson also appointed her to the St. Louis County bench in 2019 and 2021.
• In May 2025 she upheld the Attorney General's authority to investigate Planned Parenthood over gender-transition care.
• Wrote the 2026 opinion keeping a man on the sex-offender registry and barring him from asking again until 2028.
• None of her published opinions since 2022 has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

• Prosecutor in the St. Charles County Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit, and chief legal counsel for the county juvenile office.
• Elected twice by St. Charles County voters to the bench before her appointment.
• Part of the 2025 judgment that required Planned Parenthood Great Rivers to turn over documents on gender-transition care to the Attorney General.
• Only 1 of her 8 published opinions since 2022 has been overturned.

• Earlier appointed to lower courts by Democratic Govs. Mel Carnahan and Bob Holden. Former St. Louis assistant circuit attorney.
• In 2021 she wrote the opinion dismissing the state's appeal in the Planned Parenthood Medicaid reimbursement case, ruling there was no final judgment yet to review.
• The Missouri Supreme Court overturned 5 of her 10 published opinions (50%) since 2021, far more than the other two appeals judges on this ballot.

Missouri Right to Life did not make a formal recommendation on her retention, and cautions that a governor's stance doesn't guarantee how his appointees rule. A no vote means pro-life Gov. Kehoe would choose her replacement.

Ben Brown (R) has represented Franklin, Gasconade, Osage and Warren counties since 2023 and chairs the Senate majority caucus. A restaurant owner and former mixed-martial-arts fighter from Washington, he campaigned as "100% Pro-Life" and is endorsed by Missouri Right to Life. He has sponsored constitutional amendments to phase out Missouri's income tax, arguing it penalizes productivity, and has carried election-integrity bills.

Vicky Wors (D) is a retired human resources manager who says she wants to "return power to Missouri voters."

Scott Fitzpatrick (R) took office in 2023 after serving as State Treasurer and chairing the House Budget Committee. His office has completed more than 300 audits of state agencies, school districts and city halls, and he has warned lawmakers of coming budget shortfalls. Missouri Right to Life endorsed him in both the primary and general election.

Quentin Wilson (D), a former state Director of Revenue, wants a more hands-on auditor's office. Dustin Coffell (L) chairs the Missouri Libertarian Party and favors the lowest possible taxes.

Ann Wagner (R) has served in Congress since 2013. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America gives her an A+ on its national scorecard and endorsed her this month, calling her a trusted pro-life ally; Missouri Right to Life also endorses her. She states that human life begins at conception, and she supports the Second Amendment.

Fred Wellman (D) is a 22-year Army veteran and podcast host who says medical decisions, including abortion, belong to patients and doctors rather than politicians. Brandon Coulter Daugherty (L) is also on the ballot.

John Simmons (R) is a chiropractor from Washington who returned to the House in 2025. He voted for HB 195 (2025), the Born-Alive bill guaranteeing a baby who survives an abortion the same rights as any newborn; it passed the House 109–32. Missouri Right to Life endorses him.

Trent Leslie (D) is also running.

Amy DeClue (R) is a registered nurse of nearly 20 years, mother of five, and chair of the Franklin County Republican Central Committee. She worked against the 2024 abortion amendment alongside pro-life and parental-rights groups. She is endorsed by Missouri Right to Life, the NRA and Sen. Ben Brown.

Sarah Rachel Puckett (D) is also running.

Brad Banderman (R), first elected in 2022, is a youth pastor and Missouri Baptist College graduate. He is vice chair of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and supports local control and parents' right to choose public, private or home schooling. Missouri Right to Life endorses him. He won this seat in 2024 with about 72% of the vote.

Amy Thompson (D) is running again after losing to Banderman in 2024.

Dave Schatz (R) was appointed presiding commissioner in March 2025 after serving in the Missouri House and Senate. He says county property, personal-property and real estate taxes are too high and has pledged not to raise costs for residents.

Good to know: data centers are the biggest local issue in this race. In September, Schatz voted for the Diamond Farms data center rezoning (but not the Crooked Creek site), pointing to billions in investment and a larger tax base. Many residents oppose the projects.

Richele Landa (D) is a business analyst who opposes data centers and wants rezonings put to a public vote. Thomas Krausch (L) is also running.

These Republicans have no opponent on the ballot: Associate Circuit Judges Joe Purschke (Div. V), Matthew Houston (Div. VI) and Mark E. Brinkmann (Div. VII); County Auditor Anne Barry; Circuit Clerk Connie S. Ward; Collector of Revenue Doug Trentmann; County Clerk Tim Baker; Recorder of Deeds Lisa Smart; and Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Becker.