Judge Daniel Green ruled that Missouri's constitution does not allow referenda to overturn congressional redistricting, clearing the way for GOP-drawn maps to be used in November's midterm elections. The People Not Politicians coalition said the ruling lets the case move toward the Missouri Supreme Court. The map, enacted last September, redraws a Kansas City-centered district into a more rural, Republican-leaning configuration and is expected to reduce Democratic-held seats from two to one.
Missouri Judge Rules Referendum Cannot Block GOP Congressional Map; New Lines Cleared for November
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe celebrated the Wednesday court decision that sided with GOP redistricting efforts in the state. File Photo by Bill Greenbatt/UPI
A Cole County judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by voters to force a referendum on Missouri's Republican-drawn congressional map, ruling that the new districts may be used in the November midterm elections.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green found that the referendum provisions of Missouri's constitution do not apply to congressional redistricting.
"The Missouri Constitution does not supply any statement — let alone a clear one — reallocating authority over congressional redistricting away from the General Assembly to a referendum process," Judge Green wrote in his decision.
The People Not Politicians (PNP) coalition, which brought the lawsuit, said the key outcome was that the court issued a ruling and indicated the group intends to press the case toward the Missouri Supreme Court. PNP accused state Republicans of delaying the legal process and welcomed the chance to take the matter to a higher court.
PNP Executive Director Richard von Glahn said, "The most important thing that happened today is that there was a ruling. The state has tried to slow down the judicial process for months and now that we are out of Cole County, the real decision will be made. Our case now moves forward."
The contested map was enacted last September after a GOP-led effort to redraw Missouri's congressional districts. It reshapes a Democratic-held district centered on Kansas City into a more rural configuration, a change widely expected to make that seat lean Republican. Of Missouri's eight U.S. House seats, two are currently held by Democrats; the new map is expected to reduce that number to one.
In December, PNP submitted more than 300,000 signatures to Secretary of State Denny Hoskins seeking to trigger a statewide referendum on the map. PNP maintained that submitting the signatures should pause use of the new lines; Hoskins disagreed. In May, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the map and rejected the argument that submitting referendum petitions automatically suspends the plan.
On the day of the Aug. 4 primary, Hoskins issued a certificate declaring PNP's referendum petition insufficient and concluding the state constitution does not permit referenda on congressional maps; PNP filed its lawsuit that evening.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, praised Judge Green's ruling on social media as a "quick, common-sense ruling," saying, "Missourians voted for candidates using this map in August, and they deserve the ability to elect those candidates in November." Republican leaders, including RNC Chairman Joe Gruters, also celebrated the decision as protecting voters and election integrity.
The ruling comes amid a broader national effort by Republican-controlled legislatures to pursue mid-decade redistricting. Texas led the recent wave of mid-decade redraws, prompting responses from other states and a broader political tug-of-war over congressional maps. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, since summer 2025, 17 states have taken steps to redistrict and 10 have adopted new maps — eight viewed as favorable to Republicans and two seen as benefiting Democrats.
The PNP coalition has said it plans to continue legal challenges, and the decision is likely to be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
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