Gov. Mike Kehoe to decide when Missouri votes on abortion, income tax and direct democracy

Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on May 22, 2026

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe will soon have the power to shape the state’s election season, a major decision that could determine the fate of abortion rights, direct democracy and the state’s tax structure.

Kehoe, a Republican, is expected to announce which statewide ballot measures will appear in the August or November elections. That decision could come as soon as Friday afternoon.

The looming announcement comes ahead of a historic election season in which Missouri voters will decide a slew of top Republican priorities, including measures that would ban nearly all abortions in the state, overhaul the state’s most visible form of direct democracy and allow lawmakers to expand sales taxes to replace the income tax.

Republican lawmakers voted to place each of those measures on the Nov. 3 ballot. However, Kehoe has the power to move some of them to the Aug. 4 ballot and is widely expected to wield that power ahead of the 2026 elections.

The decision will be strategic. Republicans are hopeful that whatever Kehoe decides will give the measures the greatest chance of passage as national conservatives gear up for a potentially tortuous election cycle amid rising gas prices, war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s fledgling poll numbers.

It’s also a momentous decision for Kansas City and Missouri.

Kehoe has the power to move five key policy measures to August: a plan to make most abortions illegal in the state, a measure that would dramatically overhaul the state’s initiative petition process, an amendment to eventually replace the income tax, a proposal to require the direct election of all county assessors and the renewal of a sales tax for parks conservation.