There are many citizen petitions circulating, but the most important is "Your Vote Counts" because, if passed in November, this constitutional amendment would force state legislators to respect the will of the voters.

In recent years the Legislature has ignored many laws passed directly by the voters by repealing them or rewriting them to make them useless. This is insulting to the voters, and we need to speak up before our rights are eroded further.

There are those who claim this is only about Proposition B, the puppy mill law that voters passed in 2010 and was rewritten by the Legislature a few months later. This is not just about dogs. This is about respecting the will of the voters.

In 2008, 66 percent of Missouri voters voted in favor of a renewable energy standard, but the Legislature rejected the administrative rules to put the measure into effect, thereby killing it. In 2006, a huge majority of voters said they wanted to raise the state minimum wage and put a cost of living clause in it. Members of the House of Representatives voted to overturn the escalator clause. Fortunately, the Senate didn't get around to passing it, but will try again this year. The minimum wage is now only $7.25 an hour. Who can begrudge a worker a cost-of-living increase? Look no further than Jefferson City for the answer.

Time and again, the Legislature panders to corporate interests despite the expressed will of the voters. Protecting our ballot initiatives is the best way to combat this. The Your Vote Counts Act would require that the Legislature achieve a three-fourths vote of both houses, or send it back to the voters for a referendum the next time they wish to amend or repeal a citizen initiative that has passed by majority rule.

For more information, or to help get the signatures needed to put this on the ballot in November, go to www.protectvoters.com.

Margie Redenbaugh, St. Peters