Missourians Could Block the GOP Gerrymander With a Referendum Vote

Missourians fighting the gerrymandered congressional map passed last week by Republican state lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a ballot referendum that could give voters the power to block the map from going into effect. 

A coalition of the map’s opponents filed a referendum petition Friday with the Missouri Secretary of State. Even though Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) is expected to sign the map into law, Missouri voters could be the ones who get the last word. 

In Missouri, residents have the constitutional right to a referendum that allows them to veto laws passed by the legislature.

“Missourians have used this throughout our history to correct the legislature when they’ve taken actions that are outside popular opinion and the public will,” said Richard Von Glahn, executive director of the group People NOT Politicians Missouri, adding that it happened most recently in 2018, when Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected a right-to-work law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature. 

Missourians working to put the congressional map referendum measure on the ballot have until Dec. 11 to collect at least 107,000 signatures. Over 800 people have volunteered since Friday to help collect signatures, Von Glahn said.

If the coalition submits the signatures by Dec. 11, the map cannot go into effect until signatures are verified and Missourians have the chance to hold a referendum vote, Von Glahn said.

If the new congressional map is blocked from going into effect before the 2026 election, it will be a blow to President Donald Trump’s national effort to rig the election by creating more GOP seats in Congress.

The referendum will be scheduled for the general state election in November 2026, unless the legislature votes to order a special election sooner, Von Glahn said. The legislature isn’t scheduled to convene until January 2026, but the governor could call a special session before then to set a referendum date. During the 2018 referendum process, the legislature voted to schedule an earlier date for the referendum election. 

Currently, Missouri’s 2026 primary election is scheduled for Aug. 4, with the candidate filing period running from Feb. 24 to Mar. 31. 

But the referendum process could impact that timeline.

“Certainly that is a possibility,” Von Glahn said. “That is a complication that I know candidates might be frustrated by, but that is a result of the legislature doing something that they have never done before – an attempt at mid-cycle redistricting…The legislature might have to pass something to reopen filing or different provisions depending on when the referendum happens.” 

Missourians’ constitutional right to a referendum was upheld in 2022, when the Missouri Supreme Court threw out legal barriers that were challenged by residents who sought a referendum vote to block a 2019 abortion ban.  

“The court affirmed, specifically stating, the legislature must not be permitted to use procedural formalities to interfere with or impede this constitutional right that is so integral to Missouri’s democratic system of government,” said Tori Schafer, director of policy and campaigns at ACLU of Missouri.

In addition to the citizen veto referendum process, Missouri residents also have a separate initiative petition process that allows them to proactively pass state laws or constitutional amendments. Last year, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights. The Missouri Legislature last week passed a bill that would make it more difficult for residents to make such changes by requiring the measure to win a majority in all eight of the state’s congressional districts.