Jessica DeVoto's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Jessica DeVoto has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2022 Political Courage Test.
Missouri State Legislative Election 2022 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| We need to do everything in our power ensure that people have access to healthcare, including abortion, and that includes using public funds when necessary. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support raising taxes on any income or on any entity, to promote economic growth? | ||
| Contrary to popular belief, state employees don't make very much. If anything, they need to be paid more. We need to ensure that wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana in Missouri? | ||
| I do support capital punishment for some crimes, but the system definitely needs to be reformed, as it disproportionately affects black people and other minorities. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Missouri? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Missouri? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Missouri? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Missouri's high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Local control is best when it comes to education. What works in one state or area may not work in another. Charter schools either need more accountability, including elected school boards, or they need to be defunded altogether, returning that money to our public schools. Missouri ranks 49th for teacher pay; it's high time we increase their salaries. Even if someone entered the country without documents, they've still been paying Missouri taxes and therefore deserve in-state tuition. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the regulation of campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | e) Do you support Missouri holding a state constitutional convention? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I definitely support Second Amendment rights, but I do think we need a few common sense regulations, such as universal background checks and closing the "boyfriend loophole". As far as licensing, I don't think we need to require a license to own a gun, but we should require one for open or concealed carry in most public places. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave opportunities? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support lowering the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Missouri's state government in closing gender, racial and other wage gaps? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Infrastructure is another of my top priorities, and it doesn't get nearly enough attention in the political discourse. Missouri's roads and bridges need a serious overhaul. Anyone who has driven in the state can attest to that. We also need to increase the availability for charging stations for electric vehicles. Another important issue is getting high-speed internet in rural areas. The pandemic highlighted just how important this is, as many families found themselves taking virtual classes from McDonald's because their home internet was inadequate or nonexistent. | |||
| Education is one of my top priorities. Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, and we must invest in their future. Missouri ranks 49th for starting teacher pay. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and many schools are going down to four days a week because they can't afford to keep the lights on. School transportation (a separate budge) has also become an issue. We need to fully fund education (by pre-2016 standards). We can accomplish this by reversing the 2022 tax cuts and ensuring corporations pay their fair share in taxes. If we can't fund schools, we shouldn't cut taxes. |
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