Keeping Up Momentum in Missouri
In 2020, CES opened up our first ever Request for Proposals for groups seeking grants to run approval voting campaigns. This article is part of a series in which RFP applicants introduce themselves and explain why their community needs approval voting.
Author: Benjamin Singer, Show Me Integrity
Just a few weeks ago, nearly 7 out of 10 St. Louis voters went to the polls and demanded in a clear voice:
“We want a more effective, ethical government of, by, and for the people.”
Because of Prop D for Democracy, Show Me Integrity, and The Center for Election Science, St. Louis residents are about to get the responsive government they deserve.
St. Louisans don’t agree on everything (let alone 68%), but approval voting for our primaries was a no-brainer. The problem was obvious—vote-splitting was diluting the power of the people, which made special interests more powerful.
The days of special interests running the show in St. Louis are now over.
St. Louis has helped expose an epidemic that is raging through our state and throughout the country. Missourians are realizing that vote-splitting is destroying their ability to pick qualified and responsible candidates.
In just the last few years in our area, multiple candidates who won because of our broken system have gone to jail for corruption. And good folks who do win elections do not have a mandate to bring meaningful change.
But St. Louis has shown the way, and it’s time to carry on that momentum throughout Missouri. St. Louis County needs approval voting elections—so do our presidential primaries, and so do the rest of our statewide elections.
We are ready to continue the fight for approval voting elections in the Show-Me State. We’ve shown, in St. Louis, that people are ready for change.
Now we will not stop until every Missourian has honest, fair elections. Only then can we all have an effective, ethical government of, by, and for the people.
Benjamin Singer
Executive Director
Show Me Integrity
CES wants to fund as many of these approval voting campaign proposals as possible in 2021. But that all depends on how much funding we’re able to bring in before the end of the year. Want to make sure we can keep the momentum for approval voting going in Missouri? Make your gift today to support these local advocates.
