Missouri Supreme Court Blocks GOP-Favored House Map Pending Voter Referendum

Missouri’s highest court has stopped a new congressional map designed to favor Republicans from taking effect, ordering that voters decide its fate in a statewide referendum.

The unanimous ruling delivered a rare setback to Republicans in the national redistricting fight and a major victory for longtime Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver. The Republican-led legislature had redrawn Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district to make it more favorable to the GOP.

The new districts were used in Missouri’s August primaries, but the state Supreme Court said they cannot be used for the November general election unless voters approve them. The court said a petition submitted by citizens seeking a referendum was “legal, sufficient, and timely,” and that the secretary of state had incorrectly rejected it.

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The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise.

The court ruled that the legislation “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.” The congressional map adopted after the 2020 census therefore remains in force for the November election, with six Republican-leaning districts and two Democratic-leaning districts.

The ruling followed a year of political maneuvering and legal disputes. After President Donald Trump urged Republicans to redraw districts to their advantage, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called a special legislative session that reshaped the 5th Congressional District. Opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures in December, but Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition on primary election day in August. The state Supreme Court overturned that decision. Hoskins and Republican committees had argued that changing the map so close to the general election would create confusion and disruption. The decision may still go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.