Missouri Voters Immediately Sue Over New Gerrymandered Map

A group of Missouri voters filed a lawsuit against the newly gerrymandered map in Missouri because it is unconstitutional.

The Daily is democracy first journalism. Please support our efforts to fight for democracy by becoming a subscriber.

It didn’t take long. Immediately after the Trump requested newly gerrmandered congressional map of Missouri was passed into law, a group of voters who will see their current congressional district carved up to create a new seat for Republicans filed a lawsuit challenging the new map.

According to the Campaign Legal Center:

A group of Missouri voters filed a legal challenge today to the state’s mid-decade redistricting effort, arguing that state officials’ attempt to implement a new congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections violates the Missouri Constitution.

The voters are residents of Kansas City and currently reside in Congressional District 5, which is the target of the unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort, but would be split into three separate districts under the new map. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Missouri, and Campaign Legal Center (CLC).

…

The lawsuit alleges that the new map violates the Missouri Constitution because congressional redistricting may occur only once every decade and because the new districts are not compact.

As we discussed in a previous story on the national Democratic legal effort to overturn GOP gerrymandered maps, the legal process is slow and expensive. It is also important to note that these are state cases, so the US Supreme Court will not be playing a role in any of the challenges.

All of the new maps must be finalized by the end of the year, so that primary ballots can be printed. Democrats just need to block these maps until the end of the year. Just like in Texas and other states, Republicans are looking to gerrymander further, and these maps will end up before each state’s Supreme Court.

In Missouri, Republicans are trying to gain one more seat. If the voters approve the effort to change California’s map in November, the Republicans stand to gain maybe a maximum of six House seats, which is a far cry from the potential double gains that they were targeting.

A vote is power, and what gerrymandering does is dilute the power of voters. People can still vote, but when they are packed into artificial districts that drown out their voices, their power is diminished.

Republicans have been targeting black majority districts with the gerrymanders.

As plaintiff and Missouri Workers Center leader Terrence Wise said, “Kansas City has been home for me my entire adult life. Voting is an important tool in our toolbox, so that we have the freedom to make our voices heard through a member of Congress who understands Kansas City’s history of racial and economic segregation along the Troost divide, and represents our needs. If our communities are needlessly split by these new lines, we would no longer see our strong values reflected in the priorities of our congressional representatives.”

Republicans can’t be permitted to take power away from people who have, in some cases, fought for centuries to have their voices heard.

After Democrats take back power, voting rights and ending gerrymanders of all kinds must be a priority to promote a healthy democracy.

What are your thoughts on the Missouri lawsuit? Join the conversation in the comments below^.