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<\/p>\nMissouri Supreme Court makes ruling on redistricting referendum: Map must go on ballot<\/p>\n
State Supreme Court reverses circuit court decision<\/p>\n
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The Missouri Supreme Court has made a decision on the validity of a referendum related to the redrawn congressional map. <\/p>\n
The state’s highest court unanimously ruled in favor of map opponents, determining that the map must go on the ballot for a public vote. <\/p>\n
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the ruling says. “HB 1 did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.” <\/p>\n
The Missouri Supreme Court said that the congressional redistricting established in 2022 “remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.” <\/p>\n
On Aug. 4, 2026, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins declared an attempted referendum insufficient<\/a> despite necessary signatures. <\/p>\n Hoskins said it wasn’t about the signatures, and that the petition could have “500 million signatures,” but the challenge itself would still be unconstitutional. <\/p>\n That determination brought about the latest case in the state Supreme Court and ultimately led to Thursday’s ruling. <\/p>\n “This is what democracy looks like, the people of Missouri demanded a voice, and the court just confirmed what we’ve been saying all along. People, not politicians, will have the final say,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, in a news release. “This victory reaches beyond Missouri. In a year, when map-drawing has become a national weapon, courts across the country are watching what happens here. A Missouri win for the referendum is a signal that the people still hold power.” <\/p>\n It’s the latest ruling in a long legal battle over the constitutionality and applicability of a new congressional map. <\/p>\n The new map has been at the center of political controversy since its inception and subsequent approval by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe<\/a> on Sept. 28, 2025. <\/p>\n Various lawsuits over the congressional map have traveled through the state’s court system. Opponents tried to push back against the map, arguing it was not compact<\/a> and that the timing of its issuance<\/a>, mid-decade, made it unconstitutional. <\/p>\n But the Missouri Supreme Court shot down both those claims, determining the map was constitutional. <\/p>\n The Missouri Supreme Court, in a separate ruling on Thursday, ordered Amendment 6 onto the November ballot. If approved, it would strengthen Missouri’s initiative and referendum process, limiting lawmakers’ abilities to change or repeal measures approved by voters. <\/p>\n The court determined Hoskins improperly declared the petition as insufficient.<\/p>\n Immediate next steps<\/p>\n The court ordered Hoskins to issue a certificate of sufficiency regarding the referendum and to place the referendum petition on the November 2026 ballot. The court also ordered Hoskins to “take any and all additions steps necessary” to put the referendum petition on the ballot before Sept. 8. <\/p>\n “The secretary and all of those acting in concert with him are restrained and enjoined from implementing, using or mandating the use of the congressional redistricting in HB 1 for the November 2026 general election or at any other time thereafter unless and until HB 1 is approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election and takes effect 30 days thereafter,” the ruling says. <\/p>\n