Alison Patton
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments for two lawsuits from a group trying to get the mid-decade “Missouri First” congressional map Map on the November ballot.
This is the final attempt to get the map, which lawmakers passed during a special session on mid-decade redistricting, in front of voters.
People Not Politicians asks justices to certify their referendum
The first case Supreme Court justices heard from People Not Politicians concerns whether the Secretary of State acted within his authority in rejecting the referendum.
Secretary Denny Hoskins, with the Attorney General’s backing, said a referendum on a congressional map was unconstitutional at the beginning of August. People Not Politicians took this decision to a Cole County judge, who sided with Hoskins two weeks ago.
The group backing the referendum immediately filed an appeal.
People Not Politicians has been trying to overturn the map since lawmakers passed the map in September 2025. The map is expected to flip District 5 from Democrat to Republican. Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver currently holds the seat and is now running against Republican candidate and state Sen. Rick Brattin, of Harrisonville.
People Not Politicians argued that the referendum is sufficient because it has enough signatures and Missouri law explicitly allows it. Attorney Chuck Hatfield said Missouri law allows a referendum on any act of the General Assembly, and that’s what House Bill 1 is.
Hoskins argued the opposite, saying the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions prohibit it because there isn’t a clear statement allowing it. Hatfield argued the specific law only applies to Senate redistricting because that’s where the provision is found.
Chief Justice Brent Powell questioned the state at least twice about whether their arguments prohibit the right to a referendum because that’s the question the Supreme Court is charged with answering.
Three interested Republican groups have also stepped in, siding with the state. Their argument in court was very similar. John Gore, an attorney from Washington, D.C. who is representing the Republican groups, added it’s too close to the November election to change anything.
If the state’s high court sides with People Not Politicians and they get the referendum on the ballot, the congressional map for November would go back to the 2022 map. Gore said this could cause chaos and confusion for voters, especially those who are in different districts depending on the map.
Candidates have spent time and money campaigning in their new districts, and election officials might not be able to change the map files — which is what ties voters to districts.
There’s also a trial on when Hoskins should start counting referendum signatures
Following arguments on whether the referendum is allowed by law, justices heard a second round of arguments from People Not Politicians, the state and another interested party agreeing with the state — a political action committee called Put Missouri First.
The focus of this lawsuit is discussing if signatures that were gathered on a petition before a certain date should have counted.
Before starting his arguments, Hatfield acknowledged that this was less significant than the arguments heard earlier in the day.
People Not Politicians started collecting signatures soon after the general assembly passed the map and when it submitted the referendum for approval to the secretary. Hoskins said the group can’t collect signatures until he approves it for circulation, and that didn’t happen until after the governor signed H.B. 1 into law.
The state and Put Missouri First argue that this is moot because Hoskins has already declared the referendum unconstitutional on its face. However, if the justices decide the case has merit, then it’s still irrelevant because People Not Politicians has enough signatures.
Put Missouri First attorney Mark Ellinger said the group is asking for advice or a ruling that could potentially help the group at a later date.
“The court only addresses when there’s a live controversy. There is not in that case,” Ellinger said.
People Not Politicians argues that referendums can be done on any act of the general assembly–a case they have consistently used throughout numerous lawsuits in both low and high courts. The group has also argued that they believe they have enough signatures already, even without the 100,000 that Hoskins chose not to count.
People Not Politicians submitted the referendum for approval in September 2025, but Hoskins didn’t give it the OK to circulate until Oct. 14, and Hoskins said any signatures collected in that time frame are invalid. He also reminded potential signers that anyone who resigns a petition is considered election fraud.
Of the nearly 306,000 signatures turned in to the Secretary on Dec. 9; 100,000 of them were not processed.
Time is ticking
The Supreme Court needs to make a decision fast because the last day to add anything to the November ballot is Monday, Sept. 8. In the People Not Politicians lawsuit tried two weeks ago, Cole County Judge Daniel Green announced his decision hours after hearing arguments.
Powell didn’t indicate when a decision would be made.
People Not Politicians rallied outside the Supreme Court, and hundreds of people came in support of overturning the 2025 map.
Mike Dempsey and his wife drove two hours from Springfield to rally Wednesday morning.
“They’re trying to gerrymander the state, and divide up districts and give people less representation in the state,” he said. “They’re using Jim Crow tactics in dividing districts with minorities. Next thing you know, they’re going to have us counting jelly beans and taking literacy tests.”
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