Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has turned down a citizens’ petition that aimed to place a vote on a congressional redistricting plan promoted by former President Donald Trump. Supporters of the referendum collected hundreds of thousands of signatures, but the Republican official dismissed the proposal as unconstitutional under Missouri law.
The rejected ballot effort
The petition was intended to let voters decide on a new congressional map drawn by the Republican-led state legislature. The map is now in use for primary elections and is designed to give the GOP a stronger edge in upcoming contests. The People Not Politicians Missouri group, which gathered the signatures, claims the rejection is an effort to silence public input.
Richard von Glahn, executive director of the group, stated there were enough valid signatures to qualify the referendum. The group plans to take legal action to fight the rejection. Hoskins claimed the referendum process is not appropriate for congressional redistricting, a stance the group argues ignores voter will.
More than just a redistricting issue
Hoskins also rejected a separate petition that sought to reform how voter initiatives are handled. The proposed amendment would limit the legislature’s ability to prevent or change voter-approved measures. Critics argue the rejection shows a pattern of undermining democratic participation in Missouri.
Bob Johnson, a former Republican state senator and member of the Respect Missouri Voters coalition, called the move a “brazen disregard” of public will. His group is also considering legal action to ensure its amendment appears on the ballot. Hoskins cited a constitutional rule banning multi-topic initiatives as the reason for the rejection.
A legal and political battleground
This is not the first time Hoskins has opposed ballot initiatives. In the fall, he asked a federal court to prevent the redistricting petition from being filed, but the court dismissed the case as premature. The judge noted that the decision could be made by the secretary of state alone.
If courts later support the referendum effort, the effects on the 2026 elections could be unclear. It might require candidates to run in different districts during the general election than were used in the primary. Alternatively, the state could be ordered to hold another round of primaries using the previous map, adding delays and legal uncertainty. Missouri’s redistricting process has already triggered a dozen lawsuits this year.
The new map significantly reshapes Missouri’s Kansas City-based fifth congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. It stretches into rural central Missouri to shift the district’s political makeup.
People Not Politicians Missouri collected over 300,000 signatures in December. Election officials reviewed them and validated more than the 111,000 needed to qualify the referendum. However, Hoskins waited until the final day allowed by state law to announce his rejection, allowing the new districts to be used in the meantime.
The proposed initiative amendment would require an 80% vote in both the House and Senate to reverse or alter voter-approved measures, compared to the current simple majority. It also aimed to prevent the legislature from making it harder for citizen initiatives to qualify for the ballot.
Hoskins cited opinions from Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Catherine Hanaway, to justify his decisions. These opinions provided a legal rationale for his rejections of both petitions. He had already signaled his likely decision when he asked the court to block the redistricting petition.
Hoskins told the Associated Press in February that the referendum process was not intended for redistricting, adding that candidates were filing under the new districts. If a court orders the redistricting referendum to be placed on the ballot, it could create complications for the 2026 elections, particularly if candidates win under different district boundaries in the general election than they ran in during the primary.
Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting effort has drawn national attention for being among the most litigated. Typically, legislative voting districts are redrawn at the start of each decade after a census. However, Trump’s call for Republicans to act earlier has led to an unusual push for changes to favor the GOP in upcoming elections.