Thayer, Mo. – Tuesday, August 4, 2026, is the primary election day for Missouri. We will vote for candidates in several local and state offices. Besides that, we will cast our ballots on important topics that are getting widespread notice across social media platforms. The information gathered here is a synopsis of what the experts said at the Thayer town hall meeting on Thursday.
Amendment 1
This amendment will continue to fund our soil and water conservation, along with state parks and historic sites. We have been funding this since 1994. It is Not a new tax. If approved, everything will remain the same. This does Not fund MDC (the Department of Conservation). If rejected, taxpayers will not pay about $20 per year.
Amendment 2
This asks about county assessors. Oregon County already has an assessor.
There is no Amendment 3.
Amendment 4
This deals with our voting rights. After the last couple of elections, many people feel disenfranchised with their vote, feeling the larger, metropolitan areas took the majority. Whatever the larger cities want, they get more as a rule of democracy than a republic. In response, our legislators came up with this. We have eight districts in Missouri. For something to be approved, all eight districts must each have a majority of voters in favor of the item. If even one county does not have a majority, it does not pass. This could sound helpful in slowing down laws we do not want, like abortion, minimum wage, and marijuana use.
However, this will basically stop all legislation. It would be impossible for all eight districts to agree on something to become law. While we think, Great. No new laws. This would stop bad laws from being repealed.
If this does not pass, our Jefferson City lawmakers are already working on a compromise of 5/8 of the districts approving a measure, or 60%.
Amendment 5
This works with our individual state income tax. Even if we waive our tax, the funds still need to be collected. This is done through items and services we use, like mechanics and food.
Some say the schools would have less revenue. Others say it would hurt locals and visitors, encouraging them to buy out of state. Representative Elliott said that we simply need to cut our expenses in Jefferson City, lowering all taxes.
