Missouri redistricting referendum faces its final legal test for November ballot

Nearly one year after Missouri Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map at President Donald Trump’s request, voters’ long-running fight to block the gerrymander faces its final battle at the state Supreme Court. The court will decide whether to place a redistricting referendum on the ballot in November or uphold a Republican state official’s decision to reject it as unconstitutional.

Missouri Supreme Court justices are set to take up two related cases Tuesday, both filed by People Not Politicians, the group leading the effort to put the gerrymander to a statewide referendum vote. The court’s decision will either preserve or restrict Missouri residents’ ability to use ballot initiatives to influence state government policies. 

In the first case, the group is asking the court to reverse Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ (R) decision to reject the referendum, arguing that he wrongly concluded that voters don’t have the authority to veto the state legislature’s redistricting plans. 

The Missouri Constitution grants voters the authority to approve or reject “any act of the general assembly” through a referendum. While the law does carve out certain exceptions, it does not list congressional redistricting among them.

However, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green concluded that Missouri voters do not have the right to veto the legislature’s redistricting plans, in a victory for Hoskins.

A ruling is expected quickly because the state faces a Sept. 8 deadline to finalize the November ballot. 

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice W. Brent Powell previously sent an extraordinary letter urging Green and parties to the lawsuit to move the referendum case “expeditiously” to the state’s highest court. His warning came after Hoskins’ office asked for a new judge in the case — just the latest in a long series of delay tactics Hoskins has deployed to slow down the referendum fight. 

While it’s unclear how the Supreme Court will rule, it has protected Missourians’ referendum rights in the past. In 2022, the court struck down two provisions that shortened the time period for collecting signatures, ruling that the restrictions impeded voters’ right of referendum.

In a second case, the group is asking the court to reverse Hoskins’ rejection of more than 100,000 signatures in support of the referendum, after Hoskins claimed they were gathered before the legal time period for collecting them. Even if the Supreme Court agrees to throw out the disputed signatures, the referendum will still have enough verified signatures to qualify for the ballot. However, the Supreme Court’s final say on the matter will impact future referendum efforts in Missouri. 

Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh had ruled in Hoskins’ favor, agreeing the rejected signatures had been unlawfully gathered before the governor signed the redistricting bill into law.