Missouri Congressional Map Referendum (2026)
| Missouri Congressional Map Referendum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Redistricting policy | |
| Status Proposed | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
The Missouri Congressional Map Referendum may appear on the ballot in Missouri as a veto referendum on November 3, 2026.
This referendum would uphold or repeal the new congressional district map under HB 1, which was passed by the Missouri State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe.[1]
Changes to congressional districts
Currently, Missouri has eight congressional districts. There are six congressional districts—2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8—with a Republican U.S. Representative, and two districts—District 1 and District 5—with a Democratic U.S. Representative. The current congressional map was drawn after the 2020 U.S. Census. The new district plan was approved in 2022 by the Missouri General Assembly, as House Bill 2909, and was signed by Gov. Mike Parson on May 18, 2022. The map was first used in the 2022 midterm elections.[2]
The new congressional map passed the General Assembly as House Bill 1 (HB 1) in a 2025 special session, and was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe on September 28, 2025. The new congressional map under HB 1 would make most changes to the Kansas City area. Under the current congressional map, Kansas City is mostly contained in the 5th congressional district, while HB 1 would divide Kansas City across multiple districts.[1]
The HB 1 map "breaks up a Democratic-held district in Kansas City and gives Republicans an advantage in seven of the state's eight U.S. House of Representatives districts," according to Reuters writer Joseph Ax.[3] According to Inside Elections writer Nathaniel Rakich, "the old map had six seats that were R+10 or redder and two seats that were D+10 or bluer — and no seats in the competitive zone in between. This resulted in a congressional delegation that has consisted of six Republicans and two Democrats since 2013. The new map, however, features seven districts with a Baseline of R+10 or redder and leaves just one seat that is D+10 or bluer. There are still no seats between D+10 and R+10."[4]
The following maps compare the state's existing congressional districts with the congressional districts proposed under HB 1.
Text of measure
Full text
The filed versions of the referendum (R001-R004) are available here.
Support for a "Yes" vote
Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in support of a "yes" vote on the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Support for a "No" vote
People Not Politicians is leading the campaign in support of the "no" vote.[5]
Supporters
Organizations
Arguments
Campaign finance
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2026
People Not Politicians is the campaign registered in support of the "no" vote, meaning it is listed as the opposing campaign.[5]
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $1,378,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,378,500.00 | $1,233.07 | $1,233.07 |
| Total | $1,378,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,378,500.00 | $1,233.07 | $1,233.07 |
Opposition
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the measure.[5]
| Committees in opposition to Congressional Map Referendum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| People Not Politicians | $1,378,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,378,500.00 | $1,233.07 | $1,233.07 |
| Total | $1,378,500.00 | $0.00 | $1,378,500.00 | $1,233.07 | $1,233.07 |
Donors
The following were the top donors who contributed to the opposition committees.[5]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Impact Social Welfare Fund | $500,000.00 | $0.00 | $500,000.00 |
| American Opportunity Action | $250,000.00 | $0.00 | $250,000.00 |
| Brick by Brick Foundation | $250,000.00 | $0.00 | $250,000.00 |
| Missouri Win | $150,000.00 | $0.00 | $150,000.00 |
| United Food and Comercial Workers International Union | $50,000.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Missouri
In Missouri, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election in six of the eight state congressional districts. Signatures must be filed 90 days following the adjournment of the legislative session in which the law was passed.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2026 ballot:
Once the signatures have been filed with the secretary of state, the secretary copies the petition sheets and transmits them to county election authorities for verification. The secretary of state may choose whether the signatures are to be verified by a 5 percent random sample or full verification. If the random sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If more than 110 percent, the veto referendum is certified, and, if less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.
Stages of this veto referendum
- Two versions of the referendum, R001 and R002, were filed by Richard von Glahn of People Not Politicians on September 12, 2025.[6]
- An additional version of the referendum was filed on September 15, 2025.[6]
- On September 26, 2025, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the proposed petitions. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, in an opinion letter, recommended Hoskins reject the petition, saying, "A bill passed by the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate does not become ‘a law’ until it is either ‘approved by the governor’ or until the bill is not ‘returned by the governor within the time limits prescribed by this section.’"[7]
- In Missouri, proponents of a veto referendum can begin collecting signatures before the ballot language is issued. In 2022, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a state law barring signature gathering until after the referendum’s official ballot title was certified violated citizens’ constitutional right to use the referendum process. The court found that the law “dramatically reduce[d] the time available for the circulation of a referendum petition, both in theory and in practice.” Campaigns have 90 days following the legislature's adjournment to submit signatures. The statutes gave the government up to 51 days to prepare the official ballot title, which, according to the court, could leave campaigns with "39 days under the worst-case scenario" to collect signatures.
- An additional version of the referendum was filed by People Not Politicians on September 29, 2025.[6]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Missouri House of Representatives, "HB 1 Map," accessed September 29, 2025
- ↑ Missouri Office of Administration, "2020-2022 Redistricting Cycle Information," accessed September 29, 2025
- ↑ Reuters, "Missouri House approves Republican-drawn congressional map," September 29, 2025
- ↑ Inside Elections, "A Detailed Analysis of Missouri’s New Congressional Map," September 29, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Missouri Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Search," accessed September 23, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Yes on Amendment 2 for Missouri Education, "Homepage," accessed November 1, 2024
- ↑ Missouri Independent, "Effort to force vote on gerrymandered Missouri congressional map hits roadblock," September 26, 2025
