Undoing Your Vote

When some lawmakers stop winning public support, they stop trying to earn it. Instead, they use their power to force their views on the rest of us.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Missouri right now. Last November, voters amended the state constitution to restore women's bodily autonomy. Since then, Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been using legal tricks, known as "lawfare," to block women's bodily autonomy. His plan? Tie up the issue in court and run out the clock, giving lawmakers time to reframe the issue and mislead voters into undoing the amendment in the next election.

Apparently, Bailey learned a valuable lesson from Trump: If at first you don’t succeed, tie it up in court until you exhaust the opposition.

Here are the gory details:

In November 2024, Missourians voted to add Amendment 3 to the state constitution, restoring women's bodily autonomy. The message from voters was clear: politicians should not make personal medical decisions for women. However, for the leaders in the Missouri Legislature, the will of the people is only respected when it aligns with their narrow idealism.

So, instead of accepting the outcome, Attorney General Andrew Bailey took immediate steps to undermine it. His approach? Tie up everything in court.

Initially, Bailey was successful. Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang allowed the old anti-abortion laws to stand while she reviewed how they are affected by the new Constitutional amendment. On July 3, however, she made her decision and struck down most of the old anti-abortion laws using what is called an “injunction.” Injunctions are temporary orders that remain in effect until a final ruling can be made. Since it can take months—or even years—to reach a final decision, the injunction effectively becomes law.

Well, that wasn’t good enough for Attorney General Andrew Bailey. He wanted to keep the old laws that restrict women's right to choose, even though they clearly conflict with the new constitutional amendment. He immediately appealed the judge’s injunction, asking the Missouri Supreme Court to step in and reverse it.

It's worth noting that Bailey was able to appeal directly to the Supreme Court rather than taking the usual path through the appellate courts. Bailey is effectively short-circuiting the judicial review process, hoping to obtain a quick decision from the state's highest court. Of course, he’s hoping the Supreme Court reverses Zhang’s injunction and restores a ban on women’s bodily autonomy.

How was Bailey able to short-circuit the judicial process? Well, in their quest to suppress the will of the people, a majority of legislators in the state congress passed a law allowing Bailey to do exactly that. In other words, they anticipated this situation and short-circuited the judicial process for political purposes.

As of this writing, Bailey is trying to get the Supreme Court to hear the appeal, and the Supreme Court has expressed hesitation. They'd rather see the appeal work its way through the appellate court. In other words, they'd like sufficient time and input before rendering a decision. The problem for Bailey is that the normal appeals process can take a considerable amount of time, and in the meantime, women will be free to make their own health decisions. But if Bailey gets his way, the old bans will come back, and then, sticking with a strategy he learned from Trump, he can stall the issue in court indefinitely, denying Missourians a right that they directly voted on.

So that’s where we are now. Stay tuned. The courtroom drama will unfold in Missouri over the next few weeks.

Let’s take a step back. This isn’t just about women’s bodily autonomy. This issue is part of a larger pattern. Republicans in the Missouri legislature have a history of undoing what voters decide. When citizens passed "Clean Missouri" to limit gerrymandering, the legislature gutted it. When voters expanded Medicaid, lawmakers dragged their feet and refused to fund it. Lawmakers consistently attack unions, trying to implement “Right to Work” laws, and each time, Missourians rise up and defeat it.

The Missouri Republican Party talks about freedom and small government, but when they lose at the ballot box, they don’t accept it. They find ways to reverse the outcome—through court challenges, new laws, or confusing ballot language. It’s not democracy. It’s control.

This kind of political game-playing severely damages democracy, not only in Missouri, but across the nation. Voting is the most essential element of democracy, but if people feel their votes don’t matter, they’ll stop voting, and we’ll lose our democracy along with our freedoms and liberties.

So, what can we do? Stay informed. Keep track of this and other political issues. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Don’t let power-hungry politicians hide in the shadows. Mainstream media rarely covers issues like those highlighted in this article because, let’s face it, they feel threatened by lawmakers. So it is up to us citizens to keep an eye on our government. Nobody is going to save us but ourselves.

Stand up. Speak out. And remember this: history will remember who stood up when freedom was under attack. Make sure your name is on the right side.