Missouri voters face four amendments and congressional map questions on Aug. 4
Missouri voters go to the polls Tuesday, August 4, 2026, for a primary election that includes four statewide constitutional amendments and congressional contests under the state’s 2025 congressional map.
The Missouri Secretary of State certified Amendments 1, 2, 4 and 5 for the August primary. The measures address a parks and conservation tax, county assessors, the citizen initiative process and the future of Missouri’s individual income tax.
Voting basics for Tuesday
Polls are scheduled to be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters should use the Missouri Secretary of State’s voter information system to verify registration, view their individual ballot and confirm their polling place before leaving home.
The primary will narrow party fields for the November 3, 2026, general election. The four constitutional amendments go directly to voters on the August ballot.
Amendment 1 would continue an existing tax
Amendment 1 asks voters whether to continue for 10 years Missouri’s existing one-tenth-of-one-percent sales and use tax for soil and water conservation, state parks and historic sites.
Official state materials say the tax generates approximately $140 million annually. If approved, the tax would be submitted to voters again in 10 years. It is not a new tax: The official ballot language says approval would not increase or decrease taxes.
Amendment 2 concerns assessors in charter counties
Amendment 2 would require all charter counties, including Jackson County, to provide for the election of a county assessor. It also would require assessors in charter counties to meet training requirements established by general law.
The proposal does not directly change the status of every county assessor in Missouri. Its constitutional changes apply to charter counties and specifically address Jackson County’s current exemption from the requirement to elect an assessor.
State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings, and the official ballot language says the measure would have no tax impact.
Amendment 4 would change citizen-led constitutional initiatives
Amendment 4 would change how citizen-initiated constitutional amendments are approved. Instead of requiring only a statewide majority, those initiatives would need majority support in each congressional district.
The measure also would make the full text of initiative petitions available with a voter’s ballot. The proposal concerns citizen initiative petitions; it does not, under the approved reporting for this article, apply that new district-by-district approval requirement to legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
Official fiscal materials estimate that the Department of Corrections could face increased annual costs of up to $21,817. The Office of State Public Defender reports an unknown fiscal impact, while other state and local entities estimate no costs or savings.
Amendment 5 would create an income-tax phaseout framework
Amendment 5 would require the Legislature to phase out and eliminate the individual state income tax based on revenue growth. It also would authorize broader sales and use taxes, curtail constitutional limits on taxing goods and services, and require certain local tax-rate cuts if local sales-tax revenue rises without reducing school funding.
The amendment would not immediately repeal Missouri’s individual income tax. It would create a constitutional framework requiring a phaseout based on revenue growth and authorize future legislative action on sales and use taxes.
The official fiscal statement says the tax impact is unknown. It says the proposal has no direct impact on state or local tax revenue, but implementing legislation could have an unknown effect. State agencies also expect at least $100,000 in implementation costs and a reduction of about $57,000 annually in income-tax check-off donations if the measure is implemented.
Congressional races use the 2025 map
Congressional primaries in Missouri’s 4th, 5th and 6th districts are on the August ballot under the 2025 congressional map. The boundaries have drawn political attention, including in and around the Kansas City-area 5th District, but those political assessments are separate from the map’s legal status.
On May 12, 2026, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the map’s constitutionality in Healey v. State. The ruling addressed whether the map complied with the constitutional requirements governing congressional districts. It did not amount to an endorsement of the map’s political desirability.
The Secretary of State confirmed that the Missouri First Map remains in effect and instructed local election authorities to use it. The August primary is the first congressional election conducted under the new boundaries.
What happens after the vote
Primary results will determine which candidates advance to the November 3 general election. The constitutional amendments will be decided by voters on Tuesday’s ballot. Amendment 5 carries the most explicit unresolved financial question because the official fiscal statement does not determine how future income-tax reductions and expanded sales taxation would affect residents, businesses or local governments.
Sources
- Missouri Secretary of State: 2026 Ballot Measures
- Supreme Court of Missouri opinion in Healey v. State
- KCUR Missouri election guide
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