GOP fighting, 50-hour Democratic filibuster kill push to make amending Missouri Constitution harder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — GOP infighting and a record-breaking, 50-hour Democratic filibuster appear to have killed a Republican push to make amending Missouri’s constitution harder, an effort in part aimed at thwarting an upcoming ballot measure on abortion-rights.

The GOP-led Senate adjourned Friday morning — nearly eight hours before the 6 p.m. deadline for lawmakers to pass legislation this year — without passing what was a top priority for Republicans this year.

The Senate’s early departure came after Democrats spent Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday blocking all work in hopes of pushing Republicans to strip a ban on noncitizens voting, which is already illegal in Missouri, from the proposed constitutional amendment.

Without the votes to force Democrats to sit down, the Republican bill sponsor on Wednesday ended the filibuster by instead asking the House to pass a version without the noncitizen voting language. The House refused.

The House could take up another measure to raise the bar for amending the constitution Friday.

But House Speaker Dean Plocher told reporters that lawmakers in that chamber will not do so because that legislation does not contain language against noncitizens voting on constitutional amendments.

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