Missouri redistricting

While a federal court decision Monday gives Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins the chance to reject the referendum, backers of the plan aren't expecting that move to hold up in state court.

Attorneys for People Not Politicians said in court Monday that a judge should rule against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' actions on the proposed congressional redistricting referendum.

The federal case is one of multiple legal battles over the mid-decade redistricting.

Advocacy group People Not Politicians has until mid-December to collect more than 100,000 signatures across six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. The lawsuit may help decide whether 90,000 collected in September and early October are valid.

The new map breaks the Kansas-City-based district of Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver into three in an effort to make it more Republican-leaning.

At an event in Columbia, Gov. Mike Kehoe said he is confident he was on firm legal ground when he called lawmakers into a special session.

If redistricting opponents can convince the courts that the constitution doesn't authorize mid-decade redistricting, then the map passed earlier this month likely won't go into effect.

Missouri's new congressional map carves up Kansas City into three separate districts, fulfilling the wishes of President Donald Trump. The ACLU filed a lawsuit Friday, and Kansas City Council recently passed a resolution authorizing legal action of its own.

The proposed map could be open to a referendum that could prevent the measure from going into effect.

The Cass County Republican represents a safe GOP seat in the Kansas City area and mid-Missouri, but that could change.