JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 20 (DC Times Online) — A Missouri judge has upheld the state’s Republican-backed congressional map for the November general election, rejecting an effort to put the plan before voters in a statewide referendum.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled Aug. 19-20 that Missouri’s referendum provisions do not apply to congressional redistricting. His decision upheld Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ refusal to certify a petition challenging the map.
The petition, submitted by the group People Not Politicians, contained more than 300,000 signatures, according to reports on the petition and state election proceedings. Hoskins rejected it Aug. 4, the day of Missouri’s primary election.
Green wrote that the Missouri Constitution does not clearly transfer authority over congressional redistricting from the General Assembly to the referendum process. He also said changing the districts so close to the general election would be impossible.
The map was enacted by Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature and remains in effect for the 2026 election under Green’s ruling. The case involved People Not Politicians and Republican Party organizations that intervened in support of the map.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in March that the Legislature could redraw congressional districts more than once during a decade. The court’s 4-3 decision addressed the Legislature’s authority to revise the map, while later litigation focused on whether the referendum petition could suspend or overturn the enacted plan.
People Not Politicians is expected to pursue an appeal, which could send the dispute to the Missouri Supreme Court.
