Referendum supporters delivered hundreds of boxes of petition signatures on Dec. 9, 2025. (Photo courtesy of People Not Politicians)
When Missouri Republicans passed a gerrymandered congressional map three months ago, they were responding to President Donald Trump’s demand that GOP-controlled states across the country move to rig next year’s midterm vote.
But their plan may have just hit an insurmountable obstacle: the voters.
More than 300,000 Missourians have signed a petition demanding that the gerrymander be put to a statewide referendum, advocacy organization People Not Politicians announced as it delivered those signatures to the state government Tuesday. That’s far more than the roughly 106,000 signatures required to trigger a vote.
The Missouri Constitution gives voters the right to hold a so-called citizen’s veto referendum to block legislation passed by state lawmakers. Voters led by People Not Politicians decided to use that mechanism to fight back against the gerrymander, which would likely eliminate one congressional district in the state currently held by a Democrat.
That move has set off a wave of court cases: one targeting the special legislative session that passed the gerrymander, three challenging the new map itself, and a complicated tangle of litigation over the referendum effort.
Republicans, who have been hellbent on attacking the referendum, suffered a serious setback Monday: A federal judge dismissed a case filed by the Missouri General Assembly arguing that voters don’t have the right to a referendum on redistricting plans.
But the ruling didn’t exactly clear the way for the referendum to proceed, either.
The judge — a Trump appointee — concluded that the referendum’s opponents don’t need a court to block it because Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, an elected Republican, has the authority to reject the petition as unconstitutional himself after the signatures are turned in.
In court, state Solicitor General Louis Capozzi made the general assembly’s case against the referendum, arguing that, if the vote is allowed to go forward, “redistricting will become a senseless exercise subject to uninformed plebiscites.”
Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, seemed to respond to that argument Tuesday: He wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “informed plebeian” while delivering nearly 700 boxes of Missouri voters’ petition signatures to the state.
People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn unloads boxes of signatures on Dec. 9, 2025. (Photo courtesy of People Not Politicians)
People Not Politicians argues that the new redistricting map must be paused now that the signatures have been delivered, citing how former Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft handled a 2017 referendum initiative as an example.
“It is very clear in law and in practice in Missouri that upon submission of signatures, until the secretary of state makes a decision – either certify the initiative as sufficient, or to certify the petition as insufficient – that the map is frozen,” von Glahn said.
But it’s unclear whether state leadership or the courts will agree with that interpretation of the law.
Meanwhile, People Not Politicians will continue monitoring the Secretary of State’s Office to make sure that they are honoring the referendum timeline. The ballot measure could go before voters in November 2026, he added.
During his press conference Tuesday, Von Glahn said that 2,000 volunteers had worked together to gather the 300,000 signatures and give voters the final say on the GOP-backed gerrymander.
Volunteer Elizabeth Franklin recounted how she drove well over 1,000 miles to collect more than 700 signatures from 25 counties.
“Rural areas refused to be left out,” Franklin said. “We attended town events, house parties, lots of fall festivals.”
Hoskins has already indicated that he plans to reject around 90,000 signatures collected during the beginning of the petition drive – a decision People Not Politicians is challenging.
A state court heard the case Monday after Republicans repeatedly delayed the proceeding. A ruling is expected soon.
Though the 300,000 signatures and Monday’s dismissal of the legislature’s legal challenge represent serious victories, referendum supporters anticipate even more legal hurdles ahead.
“If the Secretary of State refuses to certify the referendum or attempts to put HB1 into effect prematurely, People Not Politicians is prepared to take immediate action in state court,” the group said in a statement Tuesday. “The organization expects the State and allied intervenors to attempt procedural delays, but remains confident that Missouri’s courts will uphold voters’ constitutional rights.”
