Boone County Clerk says district lines can’t be redrawn until Hoskins makes move on referendum petition
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon claims district lines in Boone County can’t be redrawn until the Secretary of State’s Office makes a move on a referendum petition.
The Missouri Supreme Court handed down multiple rulings on Tuesday over the mid-decade redrawn federal House district maps within the state. Its rulings led to upholding the map, claiming petitioners did not prove the map “clearly and undoubtedly” violates Article 3 of the Missouri Constitution.
The ruling also claims that submitting a referendum petition did not automatically suspend the bill that created the new map, though it appeared additional legal battles could occur.
Lennon in her letter to Denny Hoskins’ office says that she cannot redraw the lines within Boone County, which would also update voter rolls.
Lennon cited in her letter:
“Because the secretary’s certification process under chapter 116 is ongoing and has not been finally determined, it is impossible to say as of this opinion whether the December 9 [2025] referendum petition filing was ‘legal, sufficient and timely’ and, therefore whether HB1 when into effect on December 11 or whether HB1 was referred to the people as of December 9 and can only go into effect when approve by a majority of the votes cast thereon.”
“As a result, I am caught in the untenable position of trying to predict when and how you will issue a determination about the sufficiency of the petition,” Lennon wrote to Hoskins. “Until that time, I have no actionable legal information as to what congressional district map is in effect so I will not be making any changes to the map that was in place prior to the enactment of HB1.”
The final certification date for the Aug. 4 election is May 26, with absentee voting for military voters beginning on June 19.
Boundaries within Boone County had changed with the new map, with the entirety of Columbia being in District 3 and other parts of the county being in the highly debated District 5.
View Lennon’s full letter below:
