The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state’s new congressional map is constitutional, dealing a blow to Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.).
Democrats had challenged the map, claiming that the Missouri Constitution implicitly banned mid-decade redistricting. The GOP-controlled legislature split the Kansas City-based seat held by Cleaver into three, creating a new red district.
The justices of the court affirmed a lower court’s determination that the constitution “obligates the General Assembly to redistrict when the United States census is certified to the governor but does not otherwise expressly limit the General Assembly’s plenary power to legislate congressional districts.”
There are other outstanding lawsuits regarding the map. But Democrats are primarily pursuing a different tactic.
People Not Politicians Missouri collected 305,000 signatures in order to pause the new map and submit it to the voters for approval later this year. The Missouri secretary of state is determining whether enough of those signatures are valid.
“The ultimate power lies with the voters of our state,” said Richard von Glahn, a spokesperson for the group. “In spite of the obstruction by state officials, we will continue the fight to let people, not politicians, serve as the final word.”
