Missouri Secretary of State Erects New Hurdle for ‘People’s Veto’ of GOP Gerrymander

Missouri voters are organizing to use their constitutional right to veto the GOP-controlled state legislature’s new gerrymandered map. But while they cleared one administrative hurdle Wednesday, the Republicans who run the state are trying to place yet another stumbling block in their path.

Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed into law last month a congressional redraw that splits apart Black communities in Kansas City and absorbs them into GOP districts, eliminating one of Missouri’s two districts reliably held by Democrats. 

But unlike in Texas – another red state that has bent the knee to redraw maps this year at President Donald Trump’s demand – the Missouri constitution provides voters with the opportunity to have the last word and block unpopular legislation themselves — known as a “people’s veto.”

To put the veto question on the ballot for a statewide vote, organizers must collect over 106,000 valid signatures by Dec. 11 – from at least 5% of voters in two-thirds of the state’s congressional districts.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) announced Wednesday his office approved the referendum petition. But he also put an additional hurdle in organizers’ way, claiming the signatures already collected by voters are invalid and constitute a “misdemeanor election offense.” Hoskins said his approval was required before organizers could begin collecting signatures. 

Petition organizers slammed Hoskins for spreading “false and misleading information” about the process “without citation or legal authority.” The state constitution only requires Missourians to submit a cover sheet before beginning to gather signatures, organizers said. 

“We will not be intimidated or distracted. This referendum will qualify, and Missourians – not politicians – will decide the future of fair representation in our state,” Richard von Glahn, Executive Director of People Not Politicians Missouri, said in a statement.

More than 2,400 Missourians have volunteered to gather signatures, according to the group.

The pro-voting coalition organizing the referendum said voters have collected over 100,000 signatures “from Missourians outraged by the state’s illegal gerrymandered maps.”

Hoskins’ effort to block the signatures is only the latest attempt from Republican state officials to stop the referendum from making it to the ballot. 

Hoskins and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) previously rejected the referendum petition Sept. 26, arguing the petition was premature because the gerrymander hadn’t yet been signed into law at the time it was filed. 

Petition organizers said Hanaway cited a section of the Missouri Constitution that deals with initiative petitions, not referendums. 

People Not Politicians filed a petition Sept. 29 asking a circuit court for a declaratory judgment and an injunction against the rejection. 

Hanaway then sent an opinion letter to Hoskins Oct. 9 approving the petition, but giving Hoskins final authority on the decision. 

Hoskins sent von Glahn a letter five days later approving the referendum petition – but left the door wide open for future roadblocks.

Hoskins warned he could later decline to certify the petition for placement on the ballot “if statutory or constitutional deficiencies” arise, such as failure to submit enough valid signatures or “defects” affecting the validity of the referendum.