St. Louis Public Radio | By Jason Rosenbaum
Published Oct. 16, 2025 at 5:15 p.m. CDT
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s efforts to block a redistricting referendum is drawing fierce criticism from backers of the vote.
At issue is a push from a group called People Not Politicians to place a recently passed congressional map up for a statewide vote in 2026. The proposal would transform Congressman Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district into a GOP-leaning seat.
Hanaway filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday arguing that the referendum plan violates the federal and state constitutions. The lawsuit contends nothing in the Missouri Constitution “expressly says that federal congressional reapportionment may be subjected to a referendum.”
“Defendants cannot identify any language that ‘makes it clear’ that the Missouri Constitution transfers authority over federal redistricting away from the General Assembly,” Hanaway’s lawsuit states.
On Thursday, Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for People Not Politicians, sharply disagreed with Hanaway. He pointed to language in the Missouri Constitution stating that people “reserve the power to reject laws and reserve the power to approve or reject referendums of any act of the General Assembly.”
“I would encourage you to go look at [the bill lawmakers passed during a September special session],” Hatfield said. “At the top, it says ‘an act of the General Assembly.’ The constitution specifically allows a referendum on that bill. And she is just absolutely wrong about that.”
Meanwhile, Hoskins’ office released a statement on Thursday clarifying a claim from Wednesday that People Not Politicians was committing a crime by gathering signatures.
After approving the referendum for circulation Wednesday, Hoskins’ office said in a press release that “no signatures gathered before this approval date are valid, and doing so constitutes a misdemeanor election offense.”
On Thursday, Hoskins’ office put out another release stating that “advocating for or discussing a referendum, or engaging with others about potential ballot issues, is not a crime and never has been. Nor is seeking signatures before the proposed referendum is approved as to form — even if those signatures cannot be counted due to noncompliance with statutory rules.”
People Not Politicians said Wednesday it has gathered roughly 100,000 signatures in about a month. And even though Hoskins said those signatures won’t count, the pace of the group’s activity suggests they should be able to get 106,000 signatures by Dec. 11. The group disputes Hoskins’ contention that signatures gathered before Wednesday won’t be included in the final tally.
Read the full article here: https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-10-16/redistricting-foes-blast-hanaway-for-trying-to-stop-referendum-on-missouri-map