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Nov 3 Voter GuideVoter Guide
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 General Election Cole County, Missouri
Voter’s Guide · November 3 Election

Yes on 6,
the rest are tricks.

Five statewide questions are on every Cole County ballot this fall. Citizens put two of them there by petition. Politicians in Jefferson City wrote the other three. Our advice is simple: vote YES on Amendment 6 and NO on everything else. Below you’ll find what each question really does, independent reporting on every one, and the Democrats running to represent Cole County.

Amendment 3Abortion Ban RepealVote No Amendment 6Respect Missouri VotersVote Yes Amendment 7Stock Market EndowmentVote No Amendment 8Sheriff Removal LimitsVote No Proposition A2025 Congressional MapVote No
How & When to Vote

You can vote right now.

Early voting is open in Cole County, and you don’t need an excuse to vote early in person. Here are the dates that matter.

Open now Oct. 20 through Nov. 2

Vote early in person

No excuse needed. Cole County Clerk’s Office, 311 E. High St., Room 201, Jefferson City. Weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The last day is Monday, Nov. 2, until 5 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 31

Saturday voting

The Clerk’s Office is open 8 a.m. to noon on the Saturday before the election.

By 5 p.m., Wed., Oct. 21

Request a mail ballot

Mail-in requests must reach the Clerk by 5 p.m. on Oct. 21. Absentee request form

Tuesday, Nov. 3

Election Day

Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bring a photo ID such as a Missouri driver’s license, a non-driver ID, a U.S. passport, or a military ID. Find your polling place

The Ballot Questions · In the order you’ll see them

Read past the summaries.

The wording you’ll see on your ballot was written in Jefferson City. Courts have already struck misleading language from two of these questions. So under each one we’ve linked reporting from the Missouri Independent, a nonprofit statewide newsroom, so you can see what these measures actually do.

Constitutional Amendment 3

Repeal of Reproductive Freedom

Written by politicians · HCS HJR 73
Vote No

Amendment 3 would erase the reproductive freedom amendment Missourians passed in 2024 and bring back a near-total abortion ban. The only exceptions written in are rape and incest before 12 weeks, medical emergencies, and fetal anomalies.

Why we say no
  • The 2024 amendment protects care that families count on: prenatal care, childbirth, birth control, miscarriage care, and abortion up to fetal viability. A NO vote keeps that right in place.
  • Lawmakers can already regulate abortion after viability, except when a doctor decides it’s needed to protect the patient’s life or health.
  • The gender transition language is bait. Missouri law already bans those procedures for minors. It was added to this amendment to pull in votes for the abortion ban.
  • Personal health care decisions belong to patients, families, and doctors. Not politicians and lawyers.
Read the official ballot language

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

  • Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
  • Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies, and fetal anomalies;
  • Allow legislation regulating abortion;
  • Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
  • Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors?

State governmental entities estimate no costs or savings. Greene County estimates it may experience an unknown increase in tax revenue. Other local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

In the news · Missouri Independent
Vote No

A NO vote keeps the reproductive freedom Missouri voters approved in 2024.

Constitutional Amendment 6 · Respect Missouri Voters

Protect Your Right to Petition

Citizen submitted & written · Initiative petition
Vote Yes

Missourians have been able to write their own laws by petition since 1908. Amendment 6 protects that right and stops politicians from quietly undoing what voters pass.

What it does
  • Makes the initiative and referendum process a fundamental right, and keeps today’s rules: a simple majority to pass and the same signature requirements.
  • Bars the legislature from weakening the process, whether by raising signature counts, shortening the time to gather them, limiting what you can petition on, or demanding more than a simple majority.
  • Requires ballot summaries to be clear and unbiased, and lets judges rewrite misleading ones.
  • To change or repeal a law voters passed, lawmakers would need 80 percent of both the House and the Senate, and then another statewide vote. In practice, both parties have to agree.
Why it matters
  • In 2024, Missouri voters raised the minimum wage and guaranteed paid sick leave. Two weeks after sick leave took effect, the legislature repealed it.
  • This August, politicians asked voters to make citizen petitions nearly impossible to pass. Voters rejected it by a wide margin.
Read the official ballot language

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

  • expand the initiative and referendum petition process by making it a fundamental right;
  • allow courts to revise ballot summaries through lawsuits;
  • prohibit the legislature from weakening initiative or referendum powers;
  • prohibit the legislature from changing or repealing laws enacted through the initiative process, or passing laws similar to those rejected by referendum, without approval from at least 80% of both chambers; and
  • preserve existing majority vote and signature requirements for initiative and referendum petitions?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

In the news · Missouri Independent
Vote Yes

A YES vote keeps citizens as a check on the legislature.

Constitutional Amendment 7 · “Show-Me Prosperity Fund”

A State Fund in the Stock Market

Written by politicians · SS SCS SJR 95
Vote No

Amendment 7 would set up a permanent state investment fund. The promise is that someday, maybe a century from now, its earnings would be big enough to replace every state tax.

Why we say no
  • The fund would be filled with money taken from the state’s general budget, plus private donations. The treasurer would invest it in funds that track the S&P 500.
  • None of it could be spent until the earnings are big enough to wipe out state taxes. Missouri’s general budget runs about $13 billion a year, and reporting puts the fund needed to cover that at roughly $260 billion.
  • Every dollar locked in this fund is a dollar not going to schools, roads, or health care. And our budget is already tight: in June, the State Auditor warned the state is on track to run out of general revenue.
  • It asks Missourians to donate to a fund they may never see a dime from.
Read the official ballot language

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to establish a permanent public endowment fund to support state government instead of taxing Missouri residents, prohibit the General Assembly from appropriating or diverting the fund, and eliminate state-imposed taxes once the fund generates sufficient revenue to replace them?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

In the news · Missouri Independent
Vote No

A NO vote keeps state money working for Missourians today.

Constitutional Amendment 8

Making Sheriffs Harder to Remove

Written by politicians · CCS HCS SS SJR 87
Vote No

The ballot says Amendment 8 “supports law enforcement.” What it actually does is make a sheriff much harder to remove for misconduct.

Why we say no
  • Cole County already elects its sheriff every four years. That doesn’t change either way.
  • Today, your county prosecutor or the Attorney General can go to court to remove a sheriff who breaks the law or neglects the job. Amendment 8 takes that power away from local prosecutors and leaves it with the Attorney General alone.
  • It would also lock sheriffs’ duties into the constitution word for word, including a duty to jail “traitors,” a word Missouri law never defines. Fixing any of it later would take another statewide vote.
  • Accountability for a sheriff should stay close to home, with the people that sheriff serves.
Read the official ballot language

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to support law enforcement by preserving the right of citizens to elect a county sheriff, prohibiting the removal of a county sheriff except by a writ of quo warranto, and recognizing the office of sheriff as part of the administration of justice?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

In the news · Missouri Independent
Vote No

A NO vote keeps the power to hold a sheriff accountable here in Cole County.

Proposition A · People Not Politicians

The 2025 Congressional Map

Citizen submitted · Referendum petition
Vote No

In 2025, politicians redrew Missouri’s congressional map in the middle of the decade, in a special session, to help one party win another seat in Congress. Citizens gathered signatures to put that map to a public vote. Prop A is that vote.

Careful: on this one, NO is the vote against the politicians’ map.

  • A NO vote repeals the 2025 map (House Bill 1) and keeps the congressional districts drawn in 2022. Those are the districts used in 2022 and 2024, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they’re the ones on this November’s ballot. Cole County is in District 3.
  • Maps are normally redrawn once every ten years, after the census. This one was redrawn early for political advantage.
  • Politicians shouldn’t slice up communities to pick their voters. Voters should pick their representatives.
Read the official ballot language

Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled “House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),” which repeals Missouri’s existing congressional plan, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more counties intact?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

In the news · Missouri Independent
Vote No

A NO vote throws out the 2025 map and keeps the 2022 districts.

Your Democrats on the Ballot

Vote for the Democrats.

Every Cole County ballot has the first three races below. You’ll also have one State House race, District 59 or District 60, depending on where you live. Here’s who’s running, listed in the order they appear on the ballot.

Quentin Wilson
State Auditor · Statewide

Quentin Wilson

vs. Scott Fitzpatrick (R)

Quentin Wilson has spent his career making government work better. He ran the Missouri Department of Revenue under Gov. Mel Carnahan, served as Gov. Bob Holden’s cabinet director, and was Missouri’s Commissioner of Higher Education. He’s a husband, father, grandfather, and published author.

  • An independent watchdog. One party can’t police itself.
  • Real accountability for how state and local governments spend your tax dollars
  • A more efficient, transparent government that shows results
Meet Quentin → Donate

Donations benefit Quentin Wilson for Auditor. The committee receives 96.05% of each online contribution; ActBlue, the payment processor, receives 3.95%.

Bethany Mann
U.S. House · District 3

Bethany Mann

vs. Bob Onder (R)

Bethany Mann is an environmental chemist and a working mom. She grew up in Foristell and lives in St. Peters. She’s helped farmers test their crops and helped communities test for lead and forever chemicals.

  • Strong public schools, from pre-K to union apprenticeships
  • Health care families can afford, including mental health care
  • Protecting the freedom to vote and to make your own health care decisions
Meet Bethany → Donate

Donations benefit Bethany Mann for Congress. The committee receives 96.05% of each online contribution; ActBlue, the payment processor, receives 3.95%.

J. Don Salcedo
Missouri Senate · District 6 (Cole, Camden, Miller, Moniteau, and Morgan counties)

J. Don Salcedo

vs. Jake Vogel (R) · Open seat

J. Don Salcedo spent 40 years in education, and he’s running to make sure the next generation of students gets the schools they deserve.

“The public schools have been underfunded for the last 20-some-odd years in Missouri.”
  • Better teacher pay and stronger public schools
  • A tax policy that works for working families, not the wealthiest
  • Responsible gun laws and real mental health services
Learn more →
Missouri House · Your ballot has one of these two races

Which House district am I in? District 60 covers most of Jefferson City. District 59 covers the rest of Cole County, including Lohman, Russellville, St. Martins, Taos, and Wardsville, plus a few neighborhoods inside the city. Not sure? Look up your own ballot.

Becky Kroll
Missouri House · District 59

Becky Kroll

vs. Carrie Tergin (R) · Open seat

Becky Kroll was born and raised in Lohman, and she still lives on the last acre of her family’s former dairy farm. She’s a Lincoln University graduate who’s worked in warehouses, restaurants, and small businesses. Her motto: “Neighbors first. Common sense always.”

  • Public dollars for public schools that serve every kid
  • Rural health care and access to good local food
  • Child care, housing, and jobs that let families afford to stay
  • Protecting the laws voters pass by initiative
Meet Becky → Donate

Donations benefit Becky Kroll for Missouri. The committee receives 96.05% of each online contribution; ActBlue, the payment processor, receives 3.95%.

Suzanne Luther
Missouri House · District 60

Suzanne Luther

vs. Shane Kampeter (R) · Open seat

Suzanne Luther is a lifelong Jefferson City resident. She taught in Jefferson City schools for 16 years and then served on the Jefferson City School Board. She holds two degrees from the University of Missouri and is this year’s Governor James T. Blair Award honoree.

  • A lower cost of living and a tax system that’s fair to working people
  • Stable, full funding for public schools and Lincoln University
  • Protecting maternity care, emergency services, and local clinics
  • Protecting citizens’ right to pass ballot initiatives
Meet Suzanne → Donate

Donations benefit Suzanne Luther for Missouri. The committee receives 96.05% of each online contribution; ActBlue, the payment processor, receives 3.95%.

Also on Your Ballot

Know the rest of it.

These questions appear on Cole County ballots too. Here’s what they are, so nothing on your ballot catches you by surprise.

Missouri Supreme Court

Retain Judge Paul C. Wilson?

Missouri’s appellate judges are chosen under the state’s nonpartisan court plan, and then voters decide whether to keep them. A YES vote keeps the judge for a new term. A NO vote removes the judge from the bench.

The Missouri Bar reviews every judge on the ballot. Read the reviews.

Court of Appeals · Western District

Retain Judge Lisa White Hardwick?

The Western District hears appeals from courts across western Missouri, including Cole County. Like the Supreme Court question, it’s a yes-or-no vote on whether the judge stays.

Read the Missouri Bar’s review.

City of Jefferson voters only

Proposition 1: Public Safety Sales Tax

Shall the City of Jefferson impose a citywide sales tax of one-quarter (1/4) of one percent for the purpose of improving the public safety of the City?

If you live inside Jefferson City limits, you’ll see this question at the end of your ballot.

The Cole County Democrats' half-page voter guide: Yes on 6, the rest are tricks. Vote No on Proposition A and Amendments 3, 7, and 8, and Yes on Amendment 6.
Take It With You

The guide, on paper.

Our half-page guide fits in a pocket or on the fridge. Print a stack for your neighbors, or keep one handy while you fill out your ballot.

Share on Facebook Download the Guide (PDF) → Official Sample Ballot → Check Your Registration →

Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Questions about where or how to vote? Visit the Cole County Clerk’s election page.

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