JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 20 (DC Times Online) — A Missouri judge has upheld the state’s decision to block a referendum on a Republican-backed congressional map, leaving the districts in place for the 2026 general election unless an appellate court intervenes.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled Aug. 19 or 20 that Missouri’s referendum process does not apply to congressional redistricting. His ruling upheld Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ decision not to certify a petition submitted by People Not Politicians.
The organization had sought a statewide vote on the map, which was enacted by Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature and supported by President Donald Trump and Republicans. The petition contained more than 300,000 signatures, according to the petition and related court proceedings.
Green rejected the group’s legal challenge to Hoskins’ decision. He wrote that the Missouri Constitution does not clearly transfer authority over congressional redistricting from the General Assembly to the referendum process.
The ruling came after Missouri voters used the new map in the Aug. 4 primary. It now governs the November congressional contests, although the challengers may appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The state’s highest court ruled 4-3 in March that the Legislature could redraw congressional districts more than once during a decade. That decision came as separate legal disputes continued over the referendum petition and whether its submission could affect the map’s use.
The latest ruling gives Republican candidates the benefit of the map during the midterm election cycle while ending, for now, the effort to put the redistricting plan before voters.
