{"id":6469,"date":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6469"},"modified":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","slug":"missouri-rejects-citizens-bid-for-vote-on-trump-backed-redistricting-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6469","title":{"rendered":"Missouri rejects citizens\u2019 bid for vote on Trump-backed redistricting plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"47b407a3-a661-4b17-91e9-a15e24b91d3a\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"people hold signs outside the Missouri capitol building\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e3f6739a59094498f5ab425971289189be3c98f9\/521_0_3360_2688\/master\/3360.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">People protest against a Missouri redistricting plan outside the state\u2019s capitol building in Jefferson City on 12 May. <\/span> Photograph: David A Lieb\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"47b407a3-a661-4b17-91e9-a15e24b91d3a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">People protest against a Missouri redistricting plan outside the state\u2019s capitol building in Jefferson City on 12 May. <\/span> Photograph: David A Lieb\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Missouri rejects citizens\u2019 bid for vote on Trump-backed redistricting plan<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Missouri\u2019s top election official has rejected a petition for a referendum on new congressional districts <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Missouri\u2019s top election official has rejected a citizens\u2019 petition seeking a statewide referendum on the state\u2019s redistricting plan backed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Supporters of the referendum had submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in an effort to force a November election on whether to use a new US House map approved by the Republican-led state legislature. But the Republican secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, asserted on Tuesday that the petition was void because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The number of petition signatures submitted did not matter, Hoskins said, because \u201cchallenging a congressional map is unconstitutional under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/missouri\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Missouri<\/a> law\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A group backing the referendum effort said it would contest Hoskins\u2019 decision in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cSecretary of State Hoskins is making a last desperate attempt to silence the people\u2019s voice in Missouri,\u201d Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, said in a statement, while asserting there were more than enough signatures to qualify the referendum for the ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to respond to Trump\u2019s call last year to redraw congressional districts to the GOP\u2019s advantage in hopes of holding on to the party\u2019s slim House majority in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The new map, which is being used in Tuesday\u2019s primaries, dramatically reshapes the Kansas City-based fifth congressional district, held by longtime Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver, by stretching it into rural central Missouri to give it a Republican tilt. Republicans already hold six of Missouri\u2019s eight congressional seats and hope to gain another under the new map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Hoskins shoots down amendment on citizen initiatives<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Hoskins also rejected a potential November ballot measure seeking to fortify the initiative process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The proposed amendment would bar the legislature from making it harder to qualify citizen initiatives for the ballot or approve them at an election. It also would make it harder for the legislature to reverse or amend voter-approved initiatives by requiring an 80% vote in both the house and senate, instead of the current simple majority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Although supporters had submitted thousands of signatures, Hoskins asserted that the petition violated a constitutional prohibition against rolling multiple subjects and sections of the constitution into a single amendment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Respect Missouri Voters coalition said it would take legal action to try to get its amendment on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis brazen disregard for the will of the people is exactly why the people of Missouri came together to gather signatures &#8230; because we are sick of these games in Jefferson City,\u201d said Bob Johnson, a coalition member and former Republican state senator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">For both the redistricting referendum and the citizen initiative measure, Hoskins released opinions from the Republican attorney general, Catherine Hanaway, laying out the rationale for his decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">People Not Politicians, the group sponsoring the referendum drive, submitted more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state\u2019s office in December. Local election officials reviewed the signatures\u2019 validity over the ensuing months and approved significantly more than the roughly 111,000 needed to qualify for the ballot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But Hoskins waited until the last day allowed under state law to announce his decision about the referendum \u2013 a move that let the new districts be used in the meantime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Hoskins had long signaled that he was likely to reject the referendum. He asked a federal court last fall to block the referendum petition from being submitted, arguing that congressional redistricting is not subject to a referendum under the US and Missouri constitutions. A judge dismissed the lawsuit as premature, noting in a December ruling that Hoskins had the authority to reject the petition himself if he thought it was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">When Missouri candidates began filing for office in February, Hoskins said they were doing so under the new districts and told the Associated Press that \u201cthe referendum process was never meant to be used for redistricting\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">If Hoskins is wrong, and a court orders him to place the redistricting referendum on the ballot, it\u2019s unclear what that means for the 2026 elections. Would candidates who win Tuesday\u2019s primaries be allowed to continue running under the new districts in November while voters simultaneously decide whether those districts can be used in future elections? Would candidates run in different districts for the general election than were used in the primaries? Or would courts order a do-over for the congressional primaries using the state\u2019s prior congressional districts?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Missouri\u2019s mid-decade redistricting effort already has been among the most litigated nationally, triggering about a dozen lawsuits over the past year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn at the start of each decade, immediately after a census. But Trump\u2019s call for Republicans to redraw districts to their advantage led to an unusual outbreak of mid-decade mapmaking. The redistricting effort gained additional steam when the US supreme court struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana in late April, prompting Republicans in several southern states to also redraw districts that had large minority populations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">All told, Republicans think they could win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states \u2013 Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Voters ultimately will determine whether the new districts perform as intended. Even with redistricting, Republicans are facing headwinds. The president\u2019s party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump\u2019s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Nearly 145 million people \u2013 about two of every five US residents \u2013 live in states with new congressional districts for this election. Additional states are considering redistricting before the 2028 elections. Maryland lawmakers voted on Tuesday to place an amendment on November\u2019s ballot that could pave the way for mid-decade redistricting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/missouri\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Missouri<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-voting-rights\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US voting rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Missouri%20rejects%20citizens%E2%80%99%20bid%20for%20vote%20on%20Trump-backed%20redistricting%20plan&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/missouri-redistricting-plan-vote?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F04%2Fmissouri-redistricting-plan-vote&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/missouri-redistricting-plan-vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People protest against a Missouri redistricting plan outside the state\u2019s capitol building in Jefferson City on 12 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6472,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6469\/revisions\/6472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}