Missouri Republicans are pushing back against a campaign seeking to overturn the state’s heavily gerrymandered congressional maps.
According to The Missouri Independent, on Wednesday, state Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced that at least 100,000 signatures gathered to push the initiative onto the ballot will no longer count. Should anyone insist on attempting to deliver the disqualified signatures to his office, Hoskins said, the act will be treated as a “misdemeanor election offense.”
Later in the same day, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, also a Republican, filed a lawsuit arguing that holding a referendum on the state’s congressional map is unconstitutional; in court filings, Hanaway asked a federal court to stop the referendum cold in its tracks.
“Missouri politicians continue to try to confuse, intimidate and, frankly, silence us,” said Richard Von Glahn of People Not Politicians.
People Not Politicians, notes the Independent, is the group behind the referendum campaign.
In court, the organization has already argued that Hoskins’ rejection of the initial referendum results is unlawful. Hoskins, for his part, claims that the signatures were filed in September, before the state governor had even signed the redistricting bill.
“This office remains committed to transparency, accuracy, and protecting Missouri voters’ trust in the democratic process,” Hoskins said.
The Independent reports that, using its current map, Missouri has eight congressional districts, six of which are represented by Republicans. Last month, congressional conservatives met to gerrymander at least one of the two remaining seats in an apparent attempt to conform with President Donald Trump’s instruction to create new conservative districts before the upcoming midterm election.
One of the targeted districts, the 5th District, centers around Kansas City and has been served by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver since 2005. Under the new map, the 5th District has been split, with portions now attached to the 4th and 5th Districts, both heavily Republican and extending far outside the city’s limits.
“We’ve been here before,” said Chuck Hatfield, an attorney representing People Not Politicians. “The Secretary of State knows better.”
Nevertheless, Missouri conservatives have been keen to attack People Not Politician’s funding, noting that the group accepts donations from out-of-state donors.
“Missouri’s redistricting process cannot be dictated by out-of-state special interests,” Hanaway said in response to the referendum. “We will not allow dark money groups to silence Missouri voices or hijack the work of the General Assembly.”
But Hatfield told The Missouri Independent that Hanaway and Hoskins’ actions are “outrageous,” constitution a “full-on tantrum about the right of the people to overrule these congressional districts, which is a right the people are guaranteed in the Constitution.”
Hatfield specifically targeted claims that presenting signatures could be a misdemeanor offense, lambasting the idea as “totally ridiculous.”
“This is nothing but an attempt to intimidate and deny people the right to petition their government,” he said.
Sources
Lawsuit, threat of criminal charges part of GOP effort to block vote on Missouri map
These voters want to overturn Missouri’s new gerrymandered congressional map
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