JEFFERSON CITY — A Cole County judge heard arguments in a trial Monday that examined the differences between the Missouri congressional districts first drawn from 2020 census data and new district lines the legislature drew last year to favor Republicans.
The trial will determine the constitutionality of the ballot language the Missouri Secretary of State's Office wrote for a potential statewide vote on the map.
Political campaign committee People Not Politicians and its director, Richard von Glahn, filed a lawsuit over the ballot language in November 2025, alleging it was argumentative and likely to create prejudice.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' attorney, Kathleen Hunker of the Missouri Attorney General's Office, admitted in court on Jan. 9 that the ballot language for the measure is partially argumentative and likely to create prejudice and agreed that it should be revised, according to previous reporting.
Ballot language:
"Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled “House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),” which repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns?"
Last Wednesday in court, Hoskins' office requested his office be given another chance to rewrite the language that describes the old map as gerrymandered and protecting incumbent politicians.
The new congressional map would likely flip the 5th Congressional District to Republican control. This district encompasses the Kansas City area and is currently held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
Testimony from People Not Politicians focused on the specific wording that would be on the ballot.
