If Missouri’s newly gerrymandered congressional map makes it to the ballot next year, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wants to tell voters it “better reflects statewide voting patterns” and replaces a “gerrymandered” version that “protects incumbent politicians.”
Hoskins on Friday sent the proposed ballot language for a referendum petition to Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who must issue an opinion on the wording within 10 days. Unless it is changed, it will be challenged in court, said Richard von Glahn, director of People Not Politicians, which is seeking to put the new map on the statewide ballot next year.
“I don’t think this is going to pass the smell test on whether or not it’s accurate or unbiased or likely to create prejudice,” von Glahn said.
People Not Politicians has until Dec. 11 to submit petitions seeking a vote on the map approved in a September special legislative session. If there are enough signatures distributed among six of the state’s eight congressional districts, the map would not become effective until a statewide vote.
The language Hoskins proposed would read:
“Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled ‘House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),’ which repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns?”
If a court finds the language is insufficient or unfair, a new state law will give Hoskins three chances to revise it. If Hoskins strikes out on his three attempts, the courts can prepare a new ballot title. Earlier this year, Hoskins wrote two revisions for a constitutional amendment reinstating Missouri’s abortion ban before it was accepted by the courts. He’s also been accused of exploiting the new law to delay initiative petition campaigns.
Statewide voting patterns in recent elections give Republicans about 60% of the vote and Democrats about 40%, von Glahn said. The new map would give Democrats 12.5% of the state delegation instead of one-quarter, he added.
“Maybe the secretary of state doesn’t understand the definition of the term gerrymandered,” he said.
Hoskins will not respond to von Glahn’s criticism due to the likely litigation, spokeswoman Rachael Dunn wrote in an email to The Independent. Hanaway’s job reviewing ballot language is “to ensure it is neither argumentative nor likely to create prejudice for or against the measure.”
At the insistence of President Donald Trump, Missouri lawmakers met over two weeks in September to redraw congressional districts so Republicans would have an advantage in elections for seven, instead of their current six, seats. The plan targeted the 5th District, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City since 2005.
Lawsuits over the special session began before legislators started meeting and a case over the ballot title would add a new layer of litigation to the pending cases.
There are three lawsuits — two in Jackson County and one in Cole County — asking the courts to declare lawmakers had no authority to revise district boundaries without new census data. The Cole County case is set for trial next week.
In another case, also originating in Cole County, the Missouri NAACP asked the courts to declare that Gov. Mike Kehoe had no authority under the Missouri Constitution to call lawmakers into session for congressional redistricting and altering the majority needed to pass constitutional amendments proposed by initiative.
Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh denied the request and the NAACP says it intends to appeal the ruling.
The referendum effort itself is the subject of two lawsuits, one in Cole County and another in federal court in St. Louis.
Arguments in the Cole County case, where People Not Politicians is suing over petitions rejected before Kehoe signed the bill, were postponed Monday due to a judge’s illness.
In the federal case, Hanaway argues that redistricting plans are not subject to referendums because the federal Constitution vests power to draw lines solely with legislatures, not the people of individual states. That case is set for trial Nov. 25 in St. Louis.
To succeed, a referendum petition must have at least 106,384 to 115,720 signatures from registered voters, depending on which six districts are used. On Wednesday, People Not Politicians said it had already exceeded 200,000 signatures.
Of that number, 92,000 are for a referendum proposal rejected by Hoskins as premature because it was submitted before Kehoe signed the redistricting bill on Sept. 28.
Gerrymandering is a word coined soon after the establishment of the U.S. Constitution to describe a district drawn to achieve a particular result. In the case of the map drawn during the special session, that result is to win a seat for the Republican Party.
Gerrymandering can also be used to prevent minority candidates from winning office or to preserve the power of political or economic interests.
A map representative of Missouri should have five districts where Republicans are likely to win, two where Democrats have the advantage and one that is a battleground, von Glahn said.
“What you’re looking at here is dividing the largest metro area in the state into thirds and drawing them in with people 250 miles away,” he said. “It is the definition of manipulation in order to achieve an outcome.”