Final election results: Missouri votes on Kansas City police funding amendment

Kacen Bayless

Editor’s note: The election results graphics on this page will be continuously updating as votes across the state are counted. Check back here throughout the night to see the latest. Want to have results delivered to your inbox after all the votes are in? Sign up for our Morning Rush newsletter.

The constitutional amendment, listed as Amendment 4, would allow a law to take effect that requires Kansas City to spend at least 25% of its general revenue on the police, up from the current requirement of 20%.

Kansas City is the only city in Missouri whose police department is under state control. The police department is overseen by a board of five commissioners, four who are appointed by the governor. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, as mayor, is the board’s fifth member.

Republican state lawmakers and amendment supporters say the ballot measure is a way to push back against the national movement to reduce police spending. They say it’s needed because what happens in Kansas City has a ripple effect on the rest of the state.

But opponents argue that the ballot measure and the police department’s history of state control have roots in racism. They say Kansas City already funds its police department at an amount higher than required by state law and the vote is nothing more than the state asserting dominance over a more diverse, progressive city. Lucas has compared the power dynamic between the state and the city to an empire wielding influence over one of its colonies.

Missouri Midterm Ballot Question Results: Amendment 4

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