Missouri’s new gerrymander could be overturned by voters : NPR

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On any given day lately, you'll find Lynn Villaluz knocking on doors in Kansas City to convince people to sign a petition that will allow voters to decide the fate of the new state map presented by Congress.

“There is a sense of resentment even among ordinary voters who are not as engaged,” Villaluz says. “We must compensate for the weakness of representatives who were elected to perform their simple duty and carry out the will of the voters. Instead, they think we don't know what's best for us.”

Missouri is the second state in the country, along with Texas, to gerrymander its congressional map after President Donald Trump staged national redistricting battle in July to try to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

Many other states could soon follow, including North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Ohio and Kansas. California is trying to counter Republican efforts by redistricting to favor Democratsif voters pass the constitutional amendment next month.

Missouri's Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the new law map into law late last month. The state House had six Republicans and two Democrats, but the new plan targets longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II's seat in Kansas City.

But along with Villaluz and about 3,000 other volunteers, a group called Missouri People Not Politicians is working to overturn the state's new map. If they manage to collect more than 106,000 signatures statewide by Dec. 11, a referendum will be held in 2026 in which voters will decide whether they want to keep it or reject it.

The group says it has already collected more than 100,000 signatures and continues to collect more. If they receive the necessary signatures, the referendum would pause consideration of the map until voters weigh in next year.

Villaluz says everyone she talked to was excited to sign the contract. So far, she has visited five areas around Kansas City that the new map would divide into three Republican-leaning districts. Villalus even filed a petition at the recent meeting Chappell Rohan Concert to get signatures.

“Almost anyone who stops and hears what is being said is willing to sign the petition,” Villaluz says. “Whatever your vote is, it will be diluted by cards, and no one wants that.”

Missouri Attorney General and Secretary of State Fight Back

People Not Politicians Missouri must not only gather enough signatures, but also face resistance from top state election officials. State Attorney General Katherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the redistricting referendum violates the U.S. and Missouri constitutions.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins approved the group's referendum petition this week after initially rejecting it. But in the press release, Hoskins claims that none of the signatures collected before his approval date are valid.

“The process is clear,” Hoskins said in a press release. “Every Missourian deserves confidence that ballot measures comply with the law and not out-of-state agendas or confusion campaigns. Missouri values ​​fairness and fairness, and this process reflects that.”

People Not Politicians Missouri Executive Director Richard von Glahn said in a statement that Hoskins is “deliberately spreading disinformation for political purposes” and that the state constitution allows the group to begin collecting signatures pending approval from the secretary of state.

“Our campaign collected signatures at a historic rate—I have never seen Missourians unite and mobilize so quickly,” von Glahn said in a statement. “We will not be intimidated or distracted. This referendum will qualify and Missourians, not politicians, will decide the future of fair representation in our state.”

Democratic National Committee has joined the referendum effort and is pouring more staff and money into the effort. A many lawsuits challenges to new districts were also filed.

Legal effort too

Rebekah Amezcua-Hogan is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which seeks to block Hoskins from using the map for congressional primary or general elections, and argues that mid-decade redistricting without a new census is unconstitutional.

“My own vote will be downgraded,” Amezcua-Hogan says. “I would feel like I wasn’t being represented. And I think that, at least personally, for the issues that are close to my heart, that I've been working on for years, it would be incredibly disheartening.”

Amezcua-Hogan is running as a Progressive candidate for the Kansas City Council. If the new map goes ahead, the area she wants to represent will be divided into three different constituencies. As she talks to voters on her campaign, Amezcua-Hogan is also collecting signatures for the referendum.

She says Kansas City is already competing for federal resources, and dividing it into three districts would only complicate the situation.

“Kansas City is already at a point where we're facing a lack of affordable housing, a lack of mental health resources, a lack of transportation,” Amezcua-Hogan says. “It already feels like we are fighting an uphill battle, and this uphill battle is only going to get worse.”

Most, but not all, Republicans support the idea.

Missouri's new congressional map easily passed the Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature during its weeklong special session.

Michael Davis represents a suburb south of Kansas City and is one of the lawmakers pushing for the new map. He is a member of the State Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers who seek to push the party further to the right.

Davis says Missourians elected Republican legislators because they trust they will do what they believe is best with redistricting.

“We need to send a conservative message to Washington,” Davis says. “The best way to do this is to send seven Republicans who are going to ensure that Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

But 15 Republicans, including John Patterson, speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, voted against the map in the state Legislature. Almost all of them come from parts of the state that are being redistricted or from areas that will be redistricted.

Republican State Representative Bill Allen represents a portion of north Kansas City that is evenly split between the parties. He opposes mid-decade redistricting and said he is disappointed that Missouri appears to be following the lead of Texas and Trump in doing so.

“I think I heard from one or two voters that they wanted me to vote yes, and almost everyone else I heard was against it,” Allen says. “The job of a representative is to represent the district, not the party and certainly not the president. The district I represent alone has 39,000 people. Their will is my responsibility.”

Villaluz says he plans to continue collecting signatures for the next two months until the group figures out whether it has done enough to get redistricting on the ballot and possibly reverse Missouri's gerrymandered map.

“I feel like the Republican Party is using Missouri as a guinea pig,” Villaluz says. “They think the average Missouri voter is dumber than us and they think they can get away with a lot more here in the red flyover state, but they can't.”

Villaluz says voters across Missouri won't stand idly by, and she believes they will have the final say.