Missouri Gov. Signs Extreme Gerrymander, Ballot Initiative Crackdown Into Law

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe (R) signed House Bill 1 into law Sunday, approving a Trump-ordered gerrymander made to guarantee Republicans a 7-1 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation. The governor also authorized extreme changes to the ballot initiative process, further weakening the power of Missouri voters.

The GOP’s newly approved congressional map fractures Kansas City’s 5th District by splitting apart Black communities and absorbing them into far-flung Republican-leaning districts. If allowed to take effect, it would eliminate one of Missouri’s two districts reliably held by Democrats, making it far harder for Black and Democratic voters to achieve representation.

“I was proud to officially sign the Missouri First Map into law today ahead of the 2026 midterm election,” Kehoe said after signing the bill. “I appreciate the support and efforts of state legislators, our congressional delegation, and President Trump in getting this map to my desk.”

Before Kehoe signed the extreme gerrymander, multiple lawsuits had already been filed by voters and voting rights groups.

The pro-voting plaintiffs argue the session itself and the resulting GOP map violate Missouri’s constitution on multiple grounds. They contend that mid-decade redraws are not allowed unless triggered by legal or constitutional necessity, that the map violates the state’s compactness requirement and that it contains noncontiguous and malapportioned districts.

Voting rights advocates have stressed just how rushed and sloppy the power grab has been. Republicans convened the extraordinary session, drafted a new map, pushed it through hearings and sent it to the governor’s desk in barely ten days. The goal, advocates argue, has been to avoid scrutiny and ram through a gerrymander before public backlash or legal challenges could gain traction.

“With no transparency and in a highly rushed process, the Legislature sprinted through hearings and enacted a new map in just a week and a half’s time,” one of the complaints filed by voters reads. “The map was pushed through in such a slapdash and rushed manner that the bill text double assigns one Kansas City precinct to two different congressional districts, creating a map that is malapportioned and/or noncontiguous.”

Kehoe has denied the map has any errors, saying he’ll “let the courts decide that.”

Republicans also used the session to dismantle the state’s century-old initiative petition process, gutting voters’ ability to check legislative power. 

By requiring amendments to win not just a statewide majority but also a majority in every congressional district, the measure would give a handful of deep-red districts veto power over the entire state. Advocates warn the change entrenches minority rule and could block broadly popular reforms the GOP legislature opposes, on issues including reproductive rights, healthcare access and worker protections.

Voting rights advocates are now looking to Missouri’s referendum process as a last line of resistance.

“At the order of Donald Trump, Governor Kehoe and Missouri Republicans have shown they care more about holding onto power at all costs,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said following the signing. “The battle in Missouri isn’t over. Missourians have the opportunity to put this craven power grab up for a vote. The DNC supports Missouri organizers collecting ballot signatures to take democracy back into their own hands and defeat these rigged maps once and for all.”

The pro-voting coalition, People Not Politicians, filed a referendum petition with the Secretary of State earlier this month to suspend the gerrymandered map until Missouri voters weigh in. The coalition has until December 11 to gather more than 107,000 signatures.

But on Friday, newly appointed Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) rejected the referendum petition outright, citing the wrong section of the state constitution. The coalition blasted the rejection as an illegal attempt to sabotage Missourians’ constitutional right to a referendum and vowed to keep collecting signatures while preparing a legal challenge. 

If courts do not intervene, the referendum effort fails or the GOP again ignores the will of voters, Republicans will have locked in near-total control of Missouri’s congressional delegation and effectively end direct democracy in the state.

For Missouri and the nation, it would mark another victory in President Donald Trump’s broader campaign to rig the 2026 elections before a single vote is cast.