最新杏吧原创

Arguing that last year鈥檚 congressional redistricting gambit violated the state constitution, foes of the new GOP-friendly map said the court should torpedo the changes, which were sought by President Donald Trump to inoculate Republicans against losing control of the U.S. House in the November midterm elections.

鈥淎 decision allowing lawmakers to redistrict at whim without new census data creates confusion and chaos for voters and election officials alike, and fails to ensure that the primary mandate of Congressional redistricting 鈥� one person, one vote 鈥� is met,鈥� said Denise Lieberman of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition and co-counsel to the group of citizens who brought the case.聽

The court battle stems from a lawsuit arguing that the mid-decade decision made during a special session of the Legislature was unconstitutional because new maps based on the most recent U.S. census were adopted in 2022.

Key to the opponents was a contention that the Republican majority controlling The Missouri House and Senate had one chance, in 2022, to redraw the state鈥檚 eight congressional boundaries. After that, any changes must wait until the next national census.

鈥淭he whole idea is tethered to the census data,鈥� attorney Chuck Hatfield told the seven-member high court.

Solicitor General Lou Capozzi, representing Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, said there are no limits on the General Assembly.

鈥淭he Missouri Constitution is silent in regard to mid-decade redistricting,鈥� Capozzi told the court.

Missouri is among eight Republican-led states that redrew their maps at the behest of the president.聽Democrats in seven states have countered with their own redistricting efforts to offset any GOP gains.

The party of the president has lost seats in 20 of the previous 22 mid-term elections. House Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win a majority in the chamber in 2026.

The map adopted by the General Assembly gives Republicans a significant聽advantage in seven of the state鈥檚 eight districts. Specifically, it transforms the Kansas City-based 5th聽District held for 20 years by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver into a Republican-leaning district stretching into mid-Missouri.

It leaves the 最新杏吧原创-centric 1^st Congressional District currently held by U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell as the lone Democratic-leaning seat in Missouri.

In addition to the lawsuit, the new boundaries are the subject of a recall petition backed by the People Not Politicians political action committee, which says it has collected enough signatures to place a question before voters asking if the new maps should be rejected.

During the hearing, dozens of supporters of People Not Politicians rallied outside the court, calling on the judges to rule against the Republican push.

The case of Merrie Suzanne Luther versus Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was argued during聽聽in Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh's courtroom in November.

Luther did not challenge the substance of the new map boundaries, but instead focused on the procedure, questioning whether the Legislature could draw a new map just three years after approving the current map.

In February, Limbaugh said the new maps advanced by the Republican majorities in the House and Senate were not unconstitutional.

Limbaugh wrote: "On its face, this provision does not specifically allow the Missouri legislature to create a second congressional map using the same census. On the other hand, this provision does not specifically prohibit the Missouri legislature from creating a second congressional map using the same census."

In such circumstances, Missouri courts have consistently ruled, without specific restrictive language, the legislature has the power to act, Limbaugh said.

In briefs asking the Supreme Court to uphold Limbaugh鈥檚 decision, the Secretary of State鈥檚 office, represented by the attorney general, said there is no language in the Constitution saying the Legislature can or cannot draw new congressional boundaries in the middle of the decade.

鈥淐onstitutional silence dooms Appellants鈥� claim,鈥� Capozzi wrote.

In addition, the state argued the court should refrain from interfering in the redistricting issue in other legal challenges, saying tossing out the maps could affect the outcome of the elections.

鈥淲ith the 2026 midterm elections approaching, a judicial order to implement a new congressional map for those elections would cause chaos and be inequitable,鈥� the solicitor wrote.

Hatfield, who is representing Luther, argued that the Supreme Court ruled in 1955 that the Legislature is limited to one redistricting process per census.

鈥淩espondents are just wrong that the Constitution must contain magic language expressly prohibiting mid-decade redistricting,鈥� Hatfield wrote in trial briefs to the high court.