Missouri Secretary of State blocks referendum on Trump-backed congressional redistricting, prompting lawsuit

On August 4, 2026, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins blocked a citizen-led referendum aiming to overturn a Trump-backed congressional map, prompting an immediate lawsuit from the advocacy group People Not Politicians. Hoskins argued that redistricting referendums are unconstitutional, despite local officials verifying enough signatures. Because the decision fell on primary election day, the state proceeded under the new map, which targets a Democratic district in Kansas City. A retroactive suspension by courts could trigger unprecedented redo elections.

Hoskins blocks redistricting referendum

• ▪Local Missouri election officials verified and approved more than the approximately 106,000 to 111,000 signatures required to qualify the referendum for the ballot.
• ▪The advocacy group People Not Politicians Missouri submitted over 300,000 signatures in December 2025 to force the veto referendum on the congressional map.
• ▪On August 4, 2026, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins officially refused to certify a citizen-led referendum that sought to undo the state's new Republican-drawn congressional map.
• ▪Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until August 4, 2026, the final statutory deadline, to announce his rejection of the redistricting referendum.

Trump-backed congressional map changes

• ▪Republicans currently hold six of Missouri's eight congressional seats and aim to gain a seventh seat under the newly redrawn map.
• ▪The redrawn Missouri congressional map, approved by the Republican-led legislature in 2025, was part of a national push urged by Donald Trump to secure the Republican House majority.
• ▪The new congressional map reshapes Missouri's 5th Congressional District, held by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, by extending it into rural central Missouri to favor Republicans.

Constitutional arguments over referendum authority

• ▪Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins argued that the referendum was unconstitutional, asserting that congressional redistricting plans are not subject to voter referendums under state or federal law.
• ▪People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield argued that the Missouri Constitution only forbids referendums on emergency bills and appropriations, meaning the public retains the power to challenge redistricting.
• ▪Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Governor Mike Kehoe supported Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' determination that the redistricting referendum is unconstitutional.

Lawsuit filed against Hoskins

• ▪The lawsuit filed by People Not Politicians argues that Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins lacks the unilateral authority to declare a citizen referendum unconstitutional.
• ▪On August 4, 2026, the advocacy group People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit against Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to challenge his rejection of the redistricting referendum.

Primary election timing complications

• ▪If the 2025 map is retroactively suspended, candidates could demand redo elections for the August 4, 2026, primaries, which were run under the disputed map.
• ▪Missouri's August 4, 2026, primary elections were conducted under the contested redrawn map because Secretary of State Denny Hoskins did not suspend the map during the signature review.
• ▪The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in May 2026 that if the referendum qualifies for the ballot, the 2025 map will be suspended retroactively to December 2025.