Missouri Secretary of State

The Missouri attorney general claims that the Republican-drawn congressional map is now active. But an anti-redistricting campaign argues that the law must be suspended while the state determines if enough valid signatures were submitted to force a statewide vote.

People Not Politicians sued after Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said he wouldn't count anti-redistricting ballot measure signatures collected before Oct. 14.

In Missouri and Kansas, the secretary of state is the top election official, a partisan position chosen by voters. But to the frustration of some, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has used his authority to push certain Republican priorities, especially when it comes to ballot issues on redistricting and abortion.

Opponents of Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map just submitted more than 305,000 signatures to force a vote on the plan. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins still has the chance to reject a referendum, but legal experts don't expect that move to succeed in court.

Missouri Republican leaders claimed the U.S. Constitution forbids state referendums on Congressional district plans. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the Missouri Secretary of State can still declare the petition unconstitutional under the state constitution.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected 90,000 signatures for a referendum on the newly redrawn congressional map, because they were collected before Gov. Mike Kehoe had signed the map into law. But the group People Not Politicians argues that the signatures are valid.

The initiative petition would enshrine public education as "fundamental right" in the state constitution. But a ballot summary written by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is "insufficient and unfair," a Cole County judge ruled.

The ballot measure also includes a ban on gender affirming health care for minors. Judges reissued the summary statement that voters will see on November 2026 ballots to make clear rights were being repealed, not newly established.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, both Republicans, said the partnership would enhance voter roll maintenance by “securely” sharing personal details on 1.87 million registered voters in Kansas and 4.13 million registered voters in Missouri.

The Republican National Committee is targeting voters to remove their names from a referendum petition that could overturned Missouri's recently redrawn congressional map. A lawsuit is already underway over whether Missouri's Secretary of State improperly threw out tens of thousands of signatures.

Advocacy group People Not Politicians has until mid-December to collect more than 100,000 signatures across six of Missouri's eight congressional districts. But Missouri's Republican secretary of state rejected more than 90,000 signatures the group already collected.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, Missouri's top election official, wrote the ballot language for a referendum that would overturn Republicans' recently gerrymandered congressional map. Even though the language is supposed to be unbiased, it would tell voters that the old map "protects incumbent politicians."