Missouri's map fight lands on primary election day
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Missouri votes Tuesday under a new congressional map that could be thrown out the same day.
Why it matters: The election results could hinge on the map. If voters get a chance to overturn it in November, courts could have to decide which district lines govern that election and whether Tuesday's outcomes hold.
Catch up quick: Republican lawmakers redrew Missouri's eight congressional districts in a September special session at President Trump's urging.
- The map splits KC among three districts, which Republicans say makes the districts more compact and matches the state's politics.
- Critics say the move targeted Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's seat. A group called People Not Politicians that wants a referendum on the map gathered more than 300,000 signatures between September and Dec. 9, nearly triple the signatures required.
How it works: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins decides whether those signatures qualify, and he can wait until Aug. 4, primary day, to rule.
- If Hoskins approves the signatures, the map goes before voters in November and is suspended until then.
- If he rejects the signatures, the map stands and the fight moves to court.
- The state Supreme Court ruled in May that turning in signatures alone doesn't suspend a law, but also said that if the referendum is certified, the map will be treated as if it never took effect.
The other side: Hoskins directed local election authorities to run this primary under the new map. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Hoskins maintain it became law in December.
- Counties are running Tuesday's primary on the new map. Boone County's clerk initially refused to reassign voters but complied after the ballot deadlines passed without a ruling.
- Hoskins has said that the election is too far along to switch maps this year and that even a repeal wouldn't stop lawmakers from drawing a new map for 2028.
Flashback: Missourians have done this before. Voters threw out a legislature-drawn congressional map by referendum in 1922, with nearly 62% voting to repeal.
- The 1922 races weren't run under the challenged map, so courts never had to untangle an election held on district lines that were later erased.
The bottom line: Missouri is holding an election first and settling the map second.