Judge rules new Missouri congressional map is in effect

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging whether the "Missouri First" congressional map approved by legislators last summer is already in effect.

Judge Brian Stumpe ruled on Friday that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue, stating that the action of signing a petition does not give the plaintiffs standing.

The ACLU and two Missouri residents argued that because the petition had been filed by the group People Not Politicians, challenging the maps, it should not be in effect.

The Republican-dominated Missouri General Assembly approved the map amid a White House push to get more Republican House seats in red states. The House breaks up the Fifth District, represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.

Stumpe added that because the signatures for the petition have not been certified by the secretary of state, the issue brought in the lawsuit is still hypothetical. He wrote that the plaintiffs are asking the courts to relieve the secretary of state of the role described by the Constitution.

During the hearing in February, the ACLU argued that previous Missouri secretaries of state and attorneys general followed the signature drop-off rule.

In a statement, the group said this order goes against past precedents.

"This order defies over a century of judicial precedent while rending Missourians' constitutional right to the referendum process second to the will of the people," the statement said. "The ACLU of Missouri is committed to our state constitution's founding principle that all power is derived from the people, not loaned from the government."

The ACLU plans to appeal the decision.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway called the ruling “a win on all counts” in a social media post.