Empower Missouri’s Advocacy Director Sarah Owsley, Chief of Policy Lucas Caldwell-McMillan, and Executive Director Mallory Rusch break down the governor’s special session in Jefferson City. The legislature passed a controversial congressional redistricting proposal that will split Kansas City and the high-profile push to change Missouri’s initiative petition process. They explain the components of the initiative petition changes — from bans on certain foreign contributions and new signature-fraud penalties to requiring public comment and printing full ballot texts — and focus on the most significant change: a new vote threshold that would require a majority in every congressional district for citizen-led constitutional amendments, a move critics say would effectively block ballot initiatives while leaving legislative amendments unaffected.