The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a Republican-friendly congressional map is in effect and also rejected two other challenges that the new lines violate constitutional prohibitions on compactness.
The rulings are another blow to Democrats, who have seen a string of bad news nationally related to redistricting in the past week.
Last year, Missouri lawmakers overhauled the state's congressional map to transform Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based district into a GOP-leaning seat. But the group People Not Politicians submitted signatures to place the map up for a referendum, which in the past would have likely prevented it from going into effect.
But Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced that during the signature verification process, the new map – and not one passed in 2022 that features a district Cleaver would likely win – would be in effect. Two plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, which was rejected by Cole County Judge Brian Stumpe. The plaintiffs appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, the same day that oral arguments were heard in the case, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ginger Gooch wrote in her unanimous opinion that nothing in the Constitution stipulates that a bill is suspended just when a group turns in signatures.
"Had the drafters intended a referendum petition filing to automatically suspend any act of the General Assembly at issue in the referendum petition, they would have so stated," Gooch wrote.
While the plaintiffs in the case pointed to other instances where laws were suspended, such as in 2017 when opponents of right to work submitted referendum signatures, Gooch wrote that "appellants offered no evidence the secretary could have determined, or did determine, compliance with the constitutional signature requirement on December 9 when the referendum petition was filed."
"In the examples Appellants cite, the former secretaries of state assumed the referendum petition was 'legal, sufficient, and timely,'" Gooch wrote. "Here, the secretary has chosen to do the exact opposite. The secretary has assumed the referendum petition is not 'legal, sufficient, and timely' and has chosen to move forward with his statutory review process under the assumption [the new map] was not referred to the people and went into effect on December 11, 2025."
Hoskins hasn't made a determination on whether the referendum has enough signatures and may not make a decision until close to the August primary. That could mean it will be too late in the electoral process to freeze the new map and go back to the map where Cleaver would be favored.
The cases come after a U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act's protection of majority minority districts sparked a redistricting frenzy across the South.
Since that decision, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama have moved to redraw their maps to help Republicans time for the 2026 midterm elections. And the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a statewide election validating a map that could have helped Democrats win four seats.
The Missouri high court also ruled against plaintiffs on Tuesday in two other cases arguing that the new map violates constitutional guidelines around compactness and continuity.
This is a developing story that will be updated
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