In Missouri, signatures were filed for a veto referendum against the state's new congressional districts map. On Dec. 9, the campaign People Not Politicians reported filing more than 300,000 signatures.
The targeted legislation, House Bill 1 (HB 1), redraws the state's eight congressional districts. HB 1 divides Kansas City, Missouri, between three congressional districts. As of 2025, most of Kansas City was within the 5th Congressional District, which Emanuel Cleaver (D) represented.
President Donald Trump (R) said HB 1 "will, hopefully, give us an additional Seat in Congress" and "will help send an additional MAGA Republican to Congress in the 2026 Midterm Elections." U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) said, "Bowing to the demands of Donald Trump, corrupt Missouri Republicans advanced their mid-decade gerrymandering scheme today to try and rig the midterm elections in order to salvage the weak GOP House majority." Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed HB 1 on Sept. 28, 2025.
In Missouri, placing a veto referendum on the ballot requires collecting signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election in six of the state's eight congressional districts. Therefore, the total number of signatures required depends on which six districts meet their respective thresholds. This number could range from 106,384 to 115,720.
Should enough signatures be verified, the veto referendum would appear on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot, unless the legislature calls an earlier special election.
The campaign People Not Politicians and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R), who oversees the signature verification process, disagree over whether, with signatures submitted, HB 1 is now suspended, and whether signatures collected before the ballot title was certified can be counted.
Secretary of State Hoskins said the submission did not suspend HB 1, which took effect on Dec. 11. Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, said, "It is very clear in law and in practice in Missouri that upon the submission of signatures, until the Secretary of State makes a decision to either certify the initiative as sufficient or to certify the petition is insufficient, the map is frozen. As of today, right now, House Bill 1 is suspended pending voter approval." Hoskins said, "The map will not be frozen until I certify the referendum," and that the signature review could take place until late July. He added, "I’m going to do everything I can to protect Gov. (Mike) Kehoe’s Missouri First Map — the map the General Assembly passed." Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) also said HB 1 "will go into effect on Dec. 11 and not be frozen unless and until the secretary of state certifies the referendum."
Hoskins also said signatures collected between Sept. 15 and Oct. 14 would be considered invalid. He said, "Under Missouri law, no signatures gathered before this approval date are valid, and doing so constitutes a misdemeanor election offense." von Glahn responded, saying that approach violated court precedent in No Bans on Choice et al. v. Ashcroft (2022), in which the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a state law prohibiting signature gathering for a veto referendum before the referendum's official ballot title is certified violates citizens' constitutional rights to use the referendum process.
The Missouri General Assembly, Secretary Hoskins, and Attorney General Hanaway also sued People Not Politicians in federal court, arguing that a veto referendum on a congressional redistricting plan in Missouri violated the U.S. Constitution. On Dec. 8, 2025, U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone dismissed the case as not ripe for consideration.
People Not Politicians reported $5.0 million in contributions through Dec. 10. The five largest donors were the American Opportunity Action ($1.35 million), Health Forward Foundation ($750,000), Global Impact Social Welfare Fund ($500,000), Open Society Action Fund ($450,000), and the Tides Foundation ($300,000).
Opponents of the veto referendum organized the Put Missouri First PAC, which reported $2.1 million through Dec. 10. The PAC had received contributions from four entities—the American Action Network ($1.0 million), Securing American Greatness ($1.0 million), National Republican Congressional Committee ($50,000), and Republican National Committee ($50,000).
The last veto referendum to appear on the ballot in Missouri was Proposition A on Aug. 7, 2018. Proposition A repealed a right-to-work law. Voters have decided on 25 veto referendums, repealing 24 (96%) of the targeted laws.
The veto referendum on HB 1 would not be the first against a congressional redistricting plan in Missouri. In 1922, voters approved Proposition 17, overturning a congressional redistricting plan. According to St. Joseph News-Press (Nov. 2, 1922), "Republicans have always complained that the present arrangement is a gerrymander in the Democratic interest, just as Democrats now complain that the proposed scheme is a gerrymander in the Republican interest."
Missouri is one of several states that have conducted mid-decade redistricting in 2025. Alongside Missouri, Virginia could also decide on a redistricting-related ballot measure in 2026, following California Proposition 50 on Nov. 4, 2025. In Virginia, the General Assembly approved a constitutional amendment allowing the state legislature to conduct congressional redistricting between Jan. 1, 2025, and Oct. 31, 2030. The amendment must be approved again next year to appear on the ballot, which could be a special election ballot to allow new maps to take effect before Nov. 2026.
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