Missouri

Missouri’s Congressional Map Survives Another Legal Challenge, but the Referendum Fight Is Still Alive

By EditorMay 28, 20260 Comments

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on May 27 that Gov. Mike Kehoe acted within his constitutional authority when he convened the special legislative session that produced the state's new congressional map, rejecting a legal challenge brought by the Missouri NAACP. In a unanimous opinion, the court held that the governor has broad authority to determine when and for what purpose to call the legislature into an "extraordinary" session, affirming the judgment of the lower trial court. The ruling closes out one of three legal tracks challenging Missouri's new map. The referendum signature dispute remains pending in state court, with Secretary…

Missouricaseupdates, mid-decade redistricting, Missouri

Missouri State Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in 3 Challenges to 2025 Congressional Map

By EditorMay 12, 20260 Comments

The Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday morning in three consolidated challenges to the state's new congressional map, known as the Missouri First Map, which Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law following a special legislative session in September 2025. The map, drawn as part of President Trump's broader mid-decade redistricting push to secure additional Republican congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms, splits parts of Kansas City into three districts and adds Republican-leaning areas to the district of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, one of the state's two Democratic House members. The Republican-led legislature passed the map last fall, targeting one…

Missouri, State Lawsmid-decade redistricting, Missouri, policyindepth

Missouri Redistricting Effort Faces Referendum and Legal Challenges

By EditorOct 20, 2025

Missouri's new congressional map, signed into law by the state's Republican Governor late last month, has prompted an immediate and organized voter response. The new map seeks to realign the state’s representation, targeting a longtime Democratic seat and potentially shifting the congressional delegation from six Republicans and two Democrats to seven Republicans and one Democrat. Missouri is noted as the second state, following Texas, to implement a gerrymandered map amidst a nationwide redistricting battle. In opposition to the legislatively approved boundaries, the group People Not Politicians Missouri has mobilized approximately 3,000 volunteers to collect signatures for a petition aimed at…

Missouri, Strategy and Politicsmid-decade redistricting, Missouri

Missouri Legislature Adopts New Congressional Map and Initiative Petition Reforms Amid Legal Challenges and Referendum Push

By EditorSep 14, 2025

The Missouri Senate recently concluded a special session by passing a new congressional map and a proposal aimed at restricting the initiative petition process. The redistricting plan, approved by a 21-11 vote, seeks to convert U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based 5th District into a Republican-leaning seat, marking a significant reversal from past legislative sessions. This push for new district lines was notably influenced by President Donald Trump, who reportedly pressured GOP-led states like Missouri to enact new maps before the 2026 midterm elections. The measure faced strong opposition from Democrats, who questioned the constitutionality of mid-decade redistricting, citing the…

Strategy and Politicsmid-decade redistricting, Missouri, News, policyindepth

Missouri, New York, and Louisiana Consider Taking Early Steps Toward Possible Mid-Cycle Map Redraws

By EditorAug 22, 2025

All three states are laying procedural groundwork but face distinct hurdles: executive hesitation and intra-party risk in Missouri, constitutional lead times in New York, and judicial uncertainty in Louisiana. Missouri: Gov. Mike Kehoe is “assessing options” for a special session after former President Donald Trump urged a 7-1 GOP map. No draft lines have been released, but Republican leaders say any plan would likely split Kansas City’s 5th District to unseat Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. New York: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie confirms leaders are “having discussions” after Gov. Kathy Hochul floated a Texas-style response, yet notes any mid-decade map would require…

Strategy and Politicslouisiana, mid-decade redistricting, Missouri, new york, policyindepth

Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

By EditorAug 11, 2025

Gov. Greg Abbott put mid-decade redistricting on the agenda after Trump suggested a redraw and after a Trump-aligned DOJ letter questioned the legality of four existing districts. Texas’s special session, which convened on July 21 in part to redraw the congressional map, set off a chain reaction among states looking to counter what some say is an "unusual move," although not unprecedented. On July 30, House Republicans released a draft map that could flip the state’s delegation from 25-13 to roughly 30-8 in the GOP’s favor. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny their Republican counterparts a quorum, and…

RedistrictingCalifornia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Latest, Maryland, mid-decade redistricting, Missouri, New Jersey, new york, policyindepth, Texas, texas redistricting

Second Court Rewords Missouri Redistricting Ballot Amendment Language

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020

A county circuit court judge ruled earlier last month that the wording of a ballot measure authored by the Republican legislature was “misleading” in an effort to “entice” voters into repealing an anti-gerrymandering reform measure approved by voters in 2018. This week a Missouri Appeals Court affirmed the lower court ruling that the original ballot language was misleading but it reworded the circuit court’s rewrite as well. You can read all three versions below. The circuit court replaced the ballot summary language for Amendment 3 to make clear that if the measure is approved, it would reverse the 2018 measure.The…

NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, REFORM, State Lawslawsuit, legal, lpstatelaw, Missouri, reform, STATENEWS, States

Cumulative Voting for School Board Ordered By Federal Court in Missouri

By EditorDec 07, 2016

Missouri - Late last month a federal district court ended a two year challenge to the Ferguson-Florissant School District's use of at-large elections for its seven member school board. The court ruled in August, that at-large elections for board members did violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The court's order requires the school district to use a cumulative voting system with staggered terms and off-cycle elections, preceded by a voter education program, much like the one described in the cumulative voting educational video below. https://youtu.be/L-n_D16bchM

Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rulesat-large voting, cumulative voting, Ferguson, florissant, lpvra, Missouri, school district

Anatomy of a Section 2 Lawsuit: Ferguson-Florissant School District

By EditorMar 30, 2015

The Missouri State Conference of the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Ferguson-Florissant School District this past December in a quest to discontinue the at-large elections of its seven member board and instead divide the school district into seven election districts from which each board member will be elected. Changing the method of election in this way is sure to dramatically change the composition of the board in favor of the African-American families in the district. Why? As it turns out, the Ferguson-Florissant School District’s demographics and political environment is indeed a microcosm of the sad state of race relations…

Redistrictingfeatured, Ferguson, lawid, lpvra, Missouri, school district