Missouri Secretary of State Rejects Congressional Redistricting Referendum

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a citizens' petition on August 4, 2026, ruling that voters cannot use a referendum to decide on the state's redrawn congressional districts. Despite People Not Politicians Missouri submitting more than 300,000 signatures, Hoskins asserted that challenging a congressional map via referendum is unconstitutional under state law. He stated that the referendum process was not intended for redistricting and that the measure is null regardless of the signature count.

The contested maps were passed by Republican lawmakers as part of a national strategy to benefit the GOP, specifically by reshaping the 5th Congressional District to target a Democratic-held seat. The Missouri Supreme Court had previously ruled that lawmakers acted within their authority by redrawing the map outside the usual decennial cycle.

Hoskins also rejected a separate ballot measure aimed at fortifying the citizen initiative process, citing a prohibition against combining multiple subjects into one amendment. Both decisions relied on legal opinions provided by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. In response, Richard von Glahn of People Not Politicians Missouri criticized the move as an attempt to silence voters and announced the group will challenge the redistricting decision in court to potentially revert to the previous map for the November general election.