Missouri secretary of state receives more than 600 boxes of signatures as redistricting battle continues
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Secretary of State's Office started scanning and counting more than 305,000 signatures on a petition to put a new congressional map to a vote. The group People Not Politicians delivered the signatures Tuesday after collecting them over several months.
If approved, the signatures would put Missouri's new congressional map on the November 2026 ballot for voter approval.
"Missourians resorted to a right to a referendum that we have had as part of our Constitution for over 150 years," Richard von Glahn, executive director for People Not Politicians said.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the elections division has two weeks to review signatures before sending them to local election authorities for verification. The final deadline for local authorities is set for this summer.
The new map was initially signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe in September. The maps are typically redrawn every decade after the census, but the White House has pushed for Republicans in several states to redraw maps now to give them an electoral advantage.
The map splits Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Fifth District in Kansas City into three. This will merge it with more rural and Republican areas, likely removing Cleaver's seat and giving the Republican Party a boost in the next election.
The signature submission comes as a federal judge on Monday dismissed the Missouri attorney general's lawsuit against People Not Politicians and other groups who claimed the referendum is unconstitutional and infringes on lawmakers' constitutional right to draw the congressional map.
"All a referendum does is allow people to be the final deciders on the issue," von Glahn said. "What seems very clear to me is the proponents of this map, our opponents on this campaign, what they fear the most is the voters' verdict."
The judge ruled that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins can reject the referendum during post-submission review.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that the judge’s decision won’t stop them from filing the lawsuit again if the referendum makes it onto the ballot.
“The Attorney General looks forward to an orderly review process to determine whether the proposed referendum can qualify for a vote," the office said in a statement.
Until Hoskins certifies the signatures as sufficient or insufficient, the new district map remains frozen. The Secretary of State's Office declined to comment on litigation.
