ST. LOUIS, October 5, 2020 — The St. Louis Regional Health Commission joined more than 300 business, community and civic organizations across the state in taking a public stand against Amendment 3, which would radically change how state house and senate districts are drawn in Missouri and would reverse fair mapping policies passed by Missouri voters in 2018 under “Clean Missouri.” The bipartisan opposition to Amendment 3 has grown in St. Louis and across the state as community leaders educate their peers and educated voters.
“The public health landscape is constantly changing and expanding. The more we learn, the more we understand that factors indirectly related to health – like voting policies – are critical in building a healthy society,” said Angela Fleming Brown, CEO of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission. “As a public health leader in St. Louis, I strongly oppose Amendment 3, which would hurt our democracy and put policies that promote health and healthy equity at risk.”
The St. Louis Regional Health Commission believes in health equity where someone’s race, background or ethnicity should not predict their ability to obtain health care access or good health outcomes. Amendment 3 would weaken constitutional protections for voters of color, and Amendment 3’s proposed change to who counts in legislative district maps would disproportionately take away political power from Black and Brown communities.
Amendment 3 is designed to draw district maps based on the eligible voter population of the state, meaning that children and noncitizens would not count when district maps are drawn. This would dramatically impact how communities are represented and funded at the State Capitol, in ways that would negatively impact the entire St. Louis region. Data also show that drawing maps without counting everyone would also disproportionately impact Black, Latino and Asian communities.
To learn more about why the St. Louis Regional Health Commission is encouraging Missourians to vote NO on Amendment 3 visit stlrhc.org/current-work/health-policy-advocacy/votesafe.