SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) -Missouri’s new congressional map is back in court. This time, lawyers and judges are focused on what Missourians could see on the ballot in November.
Cole County Judge Brian Stumpe is considering arguments in a lawsuit that claims the suggested ballot language is biased against the map. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wrote a question for the ballot that petitioners say would sway voters against their cause.
The congressional map signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe creates new districts for Missouri’s representation in the U.S. House and carves up the Kansas City area, currently held by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.
People Not Politicians, the group behind a petition drive, said it turned in more than enough signatures in December 2025 to trigger a statewide vote. If enough of those signatures are verified as valid, the vote is likely to happen this November. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wrote a summary and a question that could appear on the ballot. It reads:
“Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled “House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),” which repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns?”
The Secretary of State’s office admitted previously in court that the phrases “gerrymandered” and “protects incumbent politicians” are biased and asks the court for a partial judgment to remove those. However, Hoskins stands behind the descriptions of the new map as “more compact” and “better reflects statewide voting patterns.”
In the Monday afternoon trial, arguments today focused on part of the suggested ballot language that claims this new map keeps communities together and has less partisan bias than the old map.
Opponents of the map called up expert witnesses to explain how the new map was drawn to favor Republicans. One witness, Sean Nicholson, said the suggestion that the new map is less biased is “laughable,” and the whole point of House Bill 1 was to create “more partisan bias.”
In response, the state’s lawyers tried to show the expert witness was biased against the map. Nicholson previously served as an advisor to the Democratic caucus during redistricting in 2022, served on the citizen board for redistricting, and is now employed by the People Not Politicians campaign as an advisor.
People Not Politicians submitted a suggested rewrite of the ballot language. It reads:
“Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled ‘House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),’ which repeals Missouri’s existing congressional plan and replaces it with new congressional boundaries?”
Even as this trial happens, the Secretary of State has not officially verified if there are enough signatures to get the map on the ballot. The deadline for verifying the signatures is in July 2026. But that could create even more complications. Candidates will start filing for the 2026 election this month, which means they need to know if they’re filing for the old congressional districts or the new ones.
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