At its March executive committee meeting, the United Media Guild unanimously endorsed a ballot initiative that would amend the Missouri constitution to allow for six full weeks of early voting in regular elections. Signatures are currently being gathered around the state and, if enough signatures are collected, the issue will be put to a vote in the upcoming November election. It is worth noting that 30 states already have such a provision.
In the 2012 election – one that saw Missouri voters pick a governor, a U.S senator and a president – one-third of the registered voters stayed home. Proponents of the initiative believe that by increasing access to the democratic process, the number of voters will increase as well.