Missouri’s new gerrymander could be overturned by voters: NPR

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lately, on any given day, Leann Villaluz has been knocking on doors in Kansas City to urge people to sign a petition that would allow voters to decide the fate of the state’s new congressional map.

“There is a sense of resentment, even toward ordinary voters who are not as involved,” Villaluz says. “We must take over from the representatives who were elected to do their simple duty and carry out the will of the voters. Instead, they think we don’t know what’s best for ourselves.”

Missouri is the second state in the nation, along with Texas, to change its congressional map after President Donald Trump launched a get-out-the-vote campaign. nationwide redistricting battle in July to try to maintain control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

Several other states, including North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Kansas, may soon follow. California is trying to counter the Republican effort by redistricting in favor of Democratsif voters pass a constitutional amendment next month.

Republican Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed the new map late last month. The state had six Republicans and two Democrats in Congress, but the new plan targets longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II’s seat in Kansas City.

But along with Villaluz and about 3,000 other volunteers, a group called People Not Politicians Missouri is working to overturn the state’s new map. If they can get more than 106,000 signatures statewide by Dec. 11, a referendum will be held in 2026 for voters to decide whether to keep it or reject it.

The group says it has already collected more than 100,000 signatures and is continuing to collect more. If they get the signatures they need, the referendum would block development of the map until voters decide next year.

Villaluz says everyone she spoke to was excited to sign. So far, she has visited five neighborhoods around Kansas City, which would be divided into three Republican-leaning districts under the new map. Villaluz even took his petition to the recent Chappell Roan concert to obtain signatures.

“Almost anyone who stops and hears what the petition is about is ready and willing to sign it,” Villaluz said. “Whatever you vote for, it will be diluted with the cards, and no one wants that.”

Missouri Attorney General and Secretary of State Fight Back

Not only does People Not Politicians Missouri need to gather enough signatures, but it also faces resistance from the state’s top election officials. State Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that a referendum on redistricting violates both the United States and Missouri constitutions.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins approved the group’s referendum petition this week after initially rejecting it. But in a press release, Hoskins says none of the signatures collected before its approval date are valid.

“The process is clear,” Hoskins said in the release. “Every Missourian deserves to be sure that ballot measures follow the law – not out-of-state agendas or confusing campaigns. Missouri values ​​fairness and integrity, and this process reflects that.”

People Not Politicians Missouri Executive Director Richard von Glahn said in a statement that Hoskins was “deliberately spreading misinformation for political purposes” and that, under the state constitution, the group was allowed to begin collecting signatures before approval from the secretary of state.

“Our campaign has been gathering signatures at a historic pace. I have never seen Missourians unite and mobilize so quickly,” von Glahn said in the release. “We will not be intimidated or distracted. This referendum will be admissible, and Missourians – not politicians – will decide the future of fair representation in our state.”

THE Democratic National Committee has joined the referendum effort and is contributing more personnel and money to the cause. A a multitude of trials were also filed to challenge the new districts.

A legal effort too

Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to block Hoskins from using the map to hold congressional primary or general elections and argues that mid-decade redistricting without a new census is unconstitutional.

“My own voting power would be watered down,” Amezcua-Hogan says. “I would feel like I’m not represented. And I think at least personally, for the issues that I care about and have worked on for years, that would be incredibly disheartening.”

Amezcua-Hogan is running as a progressive for Kansas City Council. The area she wants to represent would be split into three different congressional districts if the new map stands. When she speaks to voters for her campaign, Amezcua-Hogan also collects signatures for the referendum effort.

She says Kansas City is already competing for federal resources and dividing it into three districts will only make the task more difficult.

“Kansas City is already at a point where we are facing a lack of affordable housing, a lack of mental health resources, and a lack of transportation,” says Amezcua-Hogan. “It already feels like we’re fighting an uphill battle, and that uphill battle is only going to get worse.”

Most, but not Republicans, agree

Missouri’s new congressional map easily passed the Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature during its weeklong special session.

Michael Davis represents a suburb south of Kansas City and is one of the lawmakers who championed the new map. He’s part of the state’s Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers who aim to push the party even further to the right.

Davis says Missourians elected Republican lawmakers because they trust them to do what they think is best when it comes to redistricting.

“We should send a conservative message to D.C.,” Davis says. “The best way to do this is to send seven Republicans who will ensure that Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

But 15 Republicans — including Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson — voted against the map in the state legislature. Nearly all come from areas of the state targeted for redistricting or areas that would be moved to new districts.

Republican state Rep. Bill Allen represents a part of northern Kansas City that is evenly split between the parties. He opposed mid-decade redistricting and said he was disappointed that Missouri seemed to be following the lead of Texas and Trump in doing so.

“I think I heard from one or two voters who wanted me to vote for it, and almost everyone else I heard from was in opposition,” Allen said. “The representative’s job is to represent the constituency, not the party, and certainly not the president. Just the constituency that I represent, the 39,000 residents. Their will is my responsibility.”

Villaluz says she plans to continue collecting signatures over the next two months, until the group knows whether it has done enough to put redistricting on the ballot and potentially flip Missouri’s three-dimensional map.

“I feel like Missouri is being used as a guinea pig by the GOP,” Villaluz says. “They think the average Missouri voter is dumber than us, and they think they can get away with a lot more here in a red flyover state, but that’s not the case.”

Villaluz says Missouri voters won’t sit idly by and she believes they will have the last word.