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Group Behind Clean Missouri Suing Over State Legislature's Attempt To Overturn

A group of people who helped pass Clean Missouri is suing over the state legislature’s attempt to reverse the changes it made to the redistricting process.

Lawmakers last week approved a proposed constitutional amendment that puts the power to draw state legislative districts in the hands of a bipartisan commission, rather than a non-partisan demographer. It also requires the districts to be drawn with an emphasis on compactness, rather than competitiveness.

The lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the language voters will see on the ballot is misleading in a number of ways. It asks a judge to order changes to the summary to make it clear what the amendment does to Clean Missouri.

Republican State Senator Dan Hegeman, the sponsor of the proposed amendment, said he believes the language is fair and he questioned why opponents want to drag the issue through a court battle when they are convinced they will win at the ballot box.

Lippmann returned to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball.