A federal judge in St. Louis is considering whether a nonprofit trying to block the implementation of a new Missouri congressional map has the right to do so.
U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone heard about an hour of oral argument Tuesday in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, and the Missouri General Assembly. Lawyers from state Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's office argued that the referendum attempt by People Not Politicians violates the state and U.S. constitutions by infringing on the General Assembly's sole authority to draw maps and are asking Bluestone to shut down the process.
"Subjecting Missouri's congressional redistricting to ballot referenda will invite chaos — driven by out-of-state special interests looking to gain a partisan advantage in Congress," Missouri Solicitor General Lewis Cappozi, the state's top appellate lawyer, wrote in briefs submitted to the court.
The state is not arguing that the referendum process always violates the U.S. Constitution, Cappozi said in court Tuesday. But long-standing federal legal precedent requires a very clear statement to strip the General Assembly of powers granted in the federal Constitution.
The framers of the state constitution "never considered, let alone endorsed, the idea that federal redistricting would be subject to the referendum process," he said. "In the end, defendants cannot escape trying to take federal power that is vested in the General Assembly."
The Missouri Constitution is clear, replied Jessica Amunson, who argued on behalf of People Not Politicians: Every law, absent a few exceptions that don't apply in this case, is subject to the referendum process.
The state, she said, is using language in the U.S. Constitution to insulate it from hearing the views of its citizens.
"I think it's safe to say the founders would be confounded," Amunson said.
The executive director of People Not Politicians, Richard von Glahn, watched the proceedings in Bluestone's downtown courtroom. He said Cappozi's arguments showed just how afraid redistricting proponents are of the voters.
"What I'm hearing is a state that is desperate to justify their power grab and to subvert the Missouri Constitution so that they don't have to justify it to voters. And I think that is shameful," he said.
Bluestone promised to issue a decision before the group submits its ballot petition signatures, which will be sometime after Dec. 9. Map opponents have indicated they have more than the 106,000 required to put a referendum on the ballot.
The redistricting would transform Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based district into a GOP-leaning seat, potentially giving Republicans seven of the state's eight districts. The legislature passed the new map in a special session in September at the urging of President Donald Trump over concerns about Republicans losing the House in the 2026 midterm elections.
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