Overview

• The law, signed Sept. 28, reshapes Democrat Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City–based 5th District by adding Republican-leaning rural areas and splitting Kansas City across three districts, a change analysts say could shift Missouri to a likely 7–1 GOP delegation.
• At least four lawsuits challenge the mid-decade redraw, arguing the Missouri Constitution permits redistricting only after a census, that districts are unlawfully noncompact, and that the governor’s special session lacked proper authority.
• The National Redistricting Foundation filed the latest suit, joining cases from the NAACP and ACLU that also cite issues such as a precinct allegedly listed in two districts and claim the new lines dilute urban and Black voting power, including by using Troost Avenue as a boundary.
• The DNC is funding and organizing a referendum petition via People Not Politicians Missouri, deploying staff and a 41,000-volunteer texting program; organizers report training more than 500 volunteers to meet signature targets across two-thirds of congressional districts.
• Under state law the map would take effect Dec. 11 unless blocked by courts or suspended by a certified referendum petition, with an early petition rejected by the secretary of state on procedural grounds now headed to court and a tight timeline before 2026 candidate filing in March.