Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said Wednesday that roughly 100,000 signatures gathered so far for a referendum over a new congressional map won't count.
And as the group gathering the signatures disputes Hoskins' contention, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the redistricting plan shouldn't be subject to a referendum at all – which could have major ramifications for other states.
Missouri lawmakers passed a new congressional map last month, which, among other things, transformed Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based 5th District into a GOP-leaning seat.
Opponents of the plan launched a referendum campaign to put it up for a vote in November 2026. If the group People Not Politicians gets roughly 106,000 signatures by the middle of December, then, barring the legislature moving the referendum to early 2026, there's no way for the plan to go into effect for the midterm congressional elections.
Hoskins said on Wednesday that he'd approved the referendum for circulation but added in a press release that "no signatures gathered before this approval date are valid, and doing so constitutes a misdemeanor election offense."
"The process is clear," Hoskins said in a statement. "Every Missourian deserves confidence that ballot measures follow the law — not out-of-state agendas or confusion campaigns. Missouri values fairness and integrity, and this process reflects that."
Richard von Glahn of People not Politicians said the constitution provides 90 days for opponents of a measure passed by the General Assembly to gather signatures for a referendum campaign.
He also said that past court precedent ruled that the Secretary of State is not allowed to use administrative delays to chip away at the time period.
"So it is completely absurd and is an example of politicians desperately seeking to silence Missouri voters and not allow us to have the final say on their illegal actions and passing this rigged map," von Glahn said.
People Not Politicians sued Hoskins when he initially rejected the referendum because Gov. Mike Kehoe hadn't signed the measure into law. The group resubmitted the referendum shortly after the GOP chief executive gave his approval for the map.
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for People Not Politicians, also took issue with the idea that collecting signatures before Wednesday amounted to a crime.
"We all have a First Amendment right to petition our government," Hatfield said. "I could go gather signatures on something that the Secretary has never even seen before and send it
in," Hatfield said. "They might reject it. But it's not a crime for me to petition my government."
Hanaway says redistricting referendums aren't allowed
Also on Wednesday, Hanaway took action to stop the referendum process in federal court.
Her office filed a lawsuit contending that the legislature, and not voters, is the only entity that can enact a redistricting plan.
"The people of Missouri have never made the conscious choice to undermine the Framers' decision to vest this state's legislature with the reapportionment authority," the lawsuit states. "Defendants therefore have no legal basis to proceed with their referendum. This court should declare that such a referendum would violate both the U.S. and Missouri constitutions."
After launching the initiative petition, von Glahn noted that the Missouri referendum process has been used decades ago to challenge a redistricting plan. And there is no expressed prohibition in the Missouri Constitution from putting a congressional map up for a vote.
Hanaway's lawsuit is only targeting Missouri's map, but it could have broader implications.
Utah Republicans are trying to put a map that is more favorable to Democrats up for a referendum. If the federal judiciary finds that redistricting plans aren't subject to a statewide vote, Utah and Missouri may effectively cancel each other if the map leads to Democrats winning a seat next year.
It may also call into question a referendum set for later this year to approve a proposal in California that could help Democrats gain five more seats. Though that statewide vote is changing California's constitution, as well as approving a new map.
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