By Jen Rice | December 10, 2025
Opponents of Missouri’s GOP-backed congressional gerrymander cleared a major goal Tuesday, handing in more than 300,000 voters’ signatures in support of putting the measure to a statewide referendum.
But despite that victory, voting advocates remain locked in a high-stakes showdown with Republican state officials who aim to slip the map through by weaponizing the administrative process and running down the clock to the 2026 election.
The state constitution gives Missourians the right to hold a so-called citizen’s veto referendum on acts of the legislature, and hundreds of thousands of voters made it clear this week that they want the final say.
Opponents of Missouri’s GOP-backed congressional gerrymander cleared a major goal Tuesday, handing in more than 300,000 voters’ signatures in support of putting the measure to a statewide referendum.
But despite that victory, voting advocates remain locked in a high-stakes showdown with Republican state officials who aim to slip the map through by weaponizing the administrative process and running down the clock to the 2026 election.
The state constitution gives Missourians the right to hold a so-called citizen’s veto referendum on acts of the legislature, and hundreds of thousands of voters made it clear this week that they want the final say.
The reason is clear: The new, partisan congressional map could split Kansas City across three Republican districts and eliminate one of the state’s two seats currently held by Democrats, diluting the power of Black voters.
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When President Donald Trump demanded GOP-controlled states conduct previously rare mid-decade redistricting to secure a Republican blowout in the 2026 midterms, Missouri was the second state to oblige.
Advocacy organization People Not Politicians fought back and started pushing for a referendum. But despite gathering nearly triple the required signatures, voters’ voices may not be heard.
Because the referendum is unlikely to be held before November, the fate of Missouri’s 5th District could come down to one seemingly technical decision: Which map will be in place between Feb. 24 and March 31, when candidates submit paperwork for a spot on the 2026 primary ballot?
People Not Politicians argued Tuesday that the new congressional map is now paused until the referendum can go before voters, citing how the state handled a similar petition in 2017.
But Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, an elected Republican, said he will ignore that precedent. Instead, he said the map won’t be paused until after signatures are verified — a process that almost certainly won’t be completed until after the candidate filing period.
“I’m going to follow my attorney’s opinion and the attorney general’s opinion that explicitly states that the referendum does not take place until those signatures are verified by the secretary of state,” Hoskins said Tuesday in an interview with The Missouri Independent.
The disagreement over pausing the map will likely add to the growing mountain of litigation surrounding Missouri’s redistricting effort: one case targeting the special legislative session that passed the gerrymander, three challenging the new map itself, and a complicated tangle of cases related to the referendum.
A district judge ruled Tuesday that Missouri lawmakers were allowed to do mid-decade redistricting. In his ruling, Judge Christopher Limbaugh concluded that the Missouri State Legislature had the “plenary authority” to enact its map.
Two cases with similar claims are set to go before a judge in a different jurisdiction next week. The matter likely could be decided by the Missouri Supreme Court.
Even victories for voting rights advocates have yielded mixed signals about the map. A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone rejected a GOP lawsuit challenging Missourians’ right to hold a referendum.
However, in his ruling, Bluestone wrote that Hoskins has the authority to “reject their petition as unconstitutional during post-submission review” and to defend his decision in court.
Read the article here: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/in-missouri-gerrymander-battle-gop-officials-look-to-drown-out-voters-voices/