Alison Patton
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
There is growing tension between the secretary of state and the Boone County clerk over when to tie voters to a new congressional map that eliminates a safe Democratic district, and now state Sen. Rick Brattin is asking for the clerk to be removed from office.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon, a Democrat, wrote a letter to Secretary of State Denny Hoskins on Wednesday, informing him that the voters can’t be tied to the new 2025 congressional districts ahead of this year’s August primaries until he certifies a referendum that would ask voters to confirm the new districts.
In an interview with ABC 17 News, Lennon said she and many other election officials are waiting on Hoskins to update map files so that they can tie voters to the new districts.
Lennon has another concern. If Hoskins certifies the referendum, which he would need to do on or before Aug. 4, the congressional districts revert to the 2022 map. However, the referendum would go on the November ballot.
“Which means we have effectively held an entire primary under a map that is no longer valid. That is an open question and uncharted territory. I do not know what the outcome of that will be, but the overall concern that I think a lot of us have about what the overall integrity of what our elections are going to be in August,” Lennon said Friday.
Hoskins, a Republican, responded to Lennon’s letter the following day, Thursday, telling all local election authorities that the 2025 map is legal and backed that claim with recent court rulings upholding the map.
During a news conference Friday in the state Capitol, Hoskins said the Missouri attorney general or even the U.S. Department of Justice could take action. Hoskins also said he doesn’t believe it is legal to hold a referendum on a new congressional map.
“I’ve not said whether I rule it [the referendum] constitutional or unconstitutional,” Hoskins said.
Brattin said the authority to redraw congressional maps belongs solely to the state legislature.
The map, called “Missouri First” by supporters, has been under legal fire since it was passed during a special legislative session in September. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the legality of the map Tuesday.
The 2025 map is likely to cut out Democrat Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) from District 5 and turn the district over to Republican control. Brattin announced he is running for the new District 5, which now includes part of Boone County, in February.
Brattin wrote letters to the Boone County prosecutor and Missouri’s attorney general, asking for immediate action if Lennon doesn’t implement the map.
“If the Boone County Clerk is refusing to implement a valid and currently operative congressional map, that conduct raises serious concerns of a willful failure to perform a mandatory legal duty under Missouri law,” Brattin wrote to Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson. “Election officials are not policymakers. They are tasked with administering the law as written, not substituting their own judgment for that of the legislature.”
Brattin asked Johnson and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to look into the matter and remove Lennon from office if necessary.
“If you’re not capable or willing to execute the law of the land, especially create absolute chaos within the election process, then you have no business being here,” Brattin said during a press conference.
Brattin said he is acting in his official capacity as a state senator to bring up these concerns.
“This is something we fought for the 7-1 map [seven Republicans, one Democrat], back in ’22,” he said. “This is something I’ve been near and dear to before I was a political candidate, but regardless, my oath is to uphold the Constitution, and it’s clear that she’s [Lennon] not upholding the law of the land that we’ve passed.”
State Rep. Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City) said states across the country are falling into dangerous mid-decade redistricting.
“I would love to have a conversation in this building [the Capitol] about how we can address that and how we can avoid a situation where our county clerks are put in a position where they don’t quite know how to proceed,” Aune said at a press conference Friday evening.
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