Overview
- Secretary of State Denny Hoskins approved the referendum petition on Oct. 14 but declared any signatures collected before that approval invalid and warned that pre‑approval gathering is a misdemeanor.
- Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the referendum, arguing it violates the U.S. and Missouri constitutions and pointing to out‑of‑state 'dark money' backing the effort.
- People Not Politicians and allied groups report roughly 100,000 signatures to date, with about 106,384 valid signatures needed across six of eight districts by Dec. 11 to put the question to voters and pause the map.
- A Nov. 4 trial will test whether petitions filed before the governor’s signature are valid, with a separate Nov. 12 Cole County trial on broader constitutional challenges and additional cases pending in Jackson County.
- The GOP‑drawn map, signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in September, restructures Kansas City’s 5th District to help secure another Republican U.S. House seat, as court filings raise fresh questions about who prepared the plan.