Missouri Congressional Redistricting Referendum Certification Delay Challenge

A pro-voting lawsuit challenging the Secretary of State’s delay in certifying or rejecting the referendum after verifying a sufficient number of signatures.

Background

People Not Politicians and its Executive Director Richard von Glahn filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to compel Secretary of State Denis Hoskins (R) to either certify or reject a referendum challenging the state’s new gerrymander. Plaintiffs assert that over 130% of signatures required for the referendum to move forward have been verified by state election officials and Hoskins is “intentionally delaying completion of his statutory duties in order to implement [the gerrymander] without judicial review.” 

Plaintiffs argue Hoskins is violating state law by delaying issuance of his determination and that the submitted signatures included affidavits “legally sufficient to prove the validity of the signatures submitted.” The lawsuit also alleges that the new gerrymander is not in effect until Hoskins declares the referendum insufficient. The lawsuit asks the court to order Hoskins to issue a certificate of sufficiency and restrain state officials from implementing the new gerrymander until the certificate has been issued.

Why It Matters

In September, Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed into law a new congressional map that dilutes the voting strength of Black voters in Kansas City. People Not Politicians obtained over 300,000 Missouri voter signatures — three times the required number of signatures — to put a “people’s veto” of the gerrymander on the statewide ballot. GOP officials in the state have sought to create obstacles for the ballot measure’s organizers at each stage of the referendum process.

Latest Updates

• June 8, 2026: The court granted the RNC’s and Put Missouri First’s motion to intervene.
• May 28, 2026: The RNC and Put Missouri First moved to intervene in the case.
• May 22, 2026: Plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.
• May 19, 2026: Plaintiffs filed a motion to expedite trial.
• May 18, 2026: Plaintiffs filed their petition.