A Cole County judge ruled Tuesday that Missouri lawmakers can redraw congressional boundaries in the middle of the decade.
Soon after Missouri lawmakers passed their new congressional map, opponents of the plan sued in Cole County – contending that the Missouri Constitution only allows redistricting immediately after the completion of a census. It's one of the numerous lawsuits over the map that seeks to oust U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City.
But Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that even though there's no explicit authorization for mid-decade redistricting, there's no explicit prohibition, either.
"[The Missouri Constitution] appears to be silent on the specific issue at hand, that is whether its language allows the legislature to conduct a second redistricting using the same census," Limbaugh wrote. "In these situations, Missouri courts have consistently held that the legislature has the power to act unless expressly prohibited. Given the fact that [the Constitution] contains no restrictive language, this court concludes that the legislature had the power to enact [the new map]."
Limbaugh's reasoning is similar to a scene in the movie "Air Bud," in which a referee ruled that a dog named Buddy could play basketball because there wasn't an explicit rule that said a dog couldn't. That analogy to the 1997 Disney film has been embraced by Republicans who support redistricting and used by Democrats to mock the GOP redistricting gambit.
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, said he plans to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The decision came the same day that redistricting opponents turned in more than 300,000 signatures to put the map up for a statewide vote.
The national redistricting effort is driven by President Donald Trump to shore up a slim Republican U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
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