Secretary of state declares referendum on congressional map ‘insufficient’; lawsuit filed challenges claim
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said Tuesday that a citizen-led referendum challenging a Republican-friendly map passed by the state legislature is "insufficient."
Hoskins made the announcement at a news conference in Jefferson City about an hour before his deadline to certify the petition challenging the "Missouri First" congressional map.
Hoskins said the designation that the referendum is "insufficient, due to it being unconstitutional," is based on court rulings and an opinion from the Missouri attorney general. The Missouri Constitution simply doesn't allow a challenge to a congressional map, Hoskins maintained.
The “referendum itself is null and void by virtue of the fact that it is unconstitutional,” Hoskins said. He said no number of valid signatures would be enough to get the measure on the ballot.
Hoskins waited until the last day required by law to make a decision. ABC 17 News reached out to the secretary about two weeks before the deadline, and Hoskins said he was still reviewing signatures and researching the constitutionality of a referendum on a redistricting map.
The group backing the referendum, People Not Politicians, said before the news conference that it was prepared for Hoskins to call the referendum unconstitutional and is gearing up for another court battle, even though the group said it has more than enough signatures required by law.
People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit on Tuesday evening challenging Hoskins. The petition claims the referendum is sufficient.
The lawsuit argues “Hoskins did not identify the number of signatures gathered as a reason for deeming the Referendum insufficient.” It also says Hoskins’ claim “the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions prohibit subjecting a redistricting bill to the referendum” is incorrect.
Back in December, a federal judge ruled that Hoskins could declare the referendum unconstitutional, but many people are wondering why Hoskins waited until the last day to decide.
If Hoskins decides to certify the referendum, it would freeze the 2025 map, and Missouri would go back to the previous map passed in 2022. What this means for the August and November elections isn't clear.
However, Hoskins has stuck by the 2025 map, saying it's the "law of the land." He reiterated those words Tuesday.
Lawmakers passed the map during a special session nearly a year ago. The 2025 map significantly alters District 5, which Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) currently holds in Congress.
The map extends the district, which was centered primarily on Kansas City, across Missouri and into northern Boone County. Republican lawmakers are anticipating the district to flip from Democratic to Republican, giving Missouri seven GOP members and one Democrat in Congress.
