Missouri High Court Nears Ruling on New Congress Map

The Missouri Supreme Court heard three referendum challenges from Secretary of State Hoskins on Wednesday, with rulings expected within days.

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in three cases challenging decisions by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who in August declared both a citizen referendum on the state's new congressional map and a proposed ballot initiative, Amendment 6, insufficient. Two of the cases must be resolved by Tuesday, the court-ordered deadline for additions to the November 3 ballot. Plaintiffs' attorney Chuck Hatfield argued the plain language of the constitution gives the people a right to a referendum on any act of the General Assembly.

Chief Justice W. Brent Powell appeared openly skeptical of the state's position, pointing out that petitioners filed the referendum nearly a year ago, in October 2025, and that Hoskins could have ruled well before the August primary rather than certifying insufficiency mere hours before polls closed. Powell also questioned how an unpassed initiative could violate the constitution, telling the state's lawyer that challenges to Amendment 6's content might have to wait until voters actually approve it.

The disputed Missouri First map, passed by lawmakers last year, was drawn to push out Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and gain a Republican seat in the Kansas City area. Solicitor General Lou Capozzi argued that Article Three, Section 7H states no redistricting plan shall be subject to referendum, and warned that allowing one would let a minority party freeze any map each cycle. The court ruled in May that if the referendum qualifies for the ballot, the 2025 map is suspended as of December 2025.

The second urgent case involves Amendment 6, which would require an 80 percent supermajority in both legislative chambers before lawmakers could alter anything passed by voter initiative. According to the Jefferson City News-Tribune, Hatfield argued Hoskins already approved the measure as single-subject in 2025 when he wrote its ballot language, and acted without authority when he later vacated that title and issued a new one. State attorney Kathleen Hunker countered that the amendment is profoundly anti-democratic and insulates past laws from reconsideration.

More than 305,000 Missourians signed the referendum petition, a figure coalition director Jamie Johnson cited outside the courthouse as proof that people across party lines want direct say in the democratic process. The fight fits a broader pre-midterm pattern in which courts and legislatures clash over election rules — Reuters, as carried by The Straits Times, notes Democrats nationally have proposed expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices while Republicans stage messaging votes on the issue.

Hoskins said he will abide by whatever the Supreme Court decides, but if the court does not specify which map applies, he intends to keep using the Missouri First map — a stance organizers like Richard von Glahn called appalled defiance of a sufficient referendum. The court also heard a third, less time-sensitive case over when referendum signature-gathering may begin.