Missouri's top election official has rejected a citizens' petition seeking a statewide referendum on new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Supporters of the referendum had submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in a bid to force a November election on a new U.S. House map approved by the Republican-led state Legislature. But Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins asserted Tuesday that the petition is unconstitutional because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums.
A group backing the referendum effort has said it will challenge Hoskins' decision in court.
Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to respond to Trump's call last year to redraw congressional districts to the GOP's advantage in hopes of holding on to the party's slim House majority in the midterm elections.
The new map, which is being used in Tuesday's primaries, dramatically reshapes the Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District, held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, by stretching it into rural central Missouri to give it a Republican tilt. Republicans already hold six of Missouri's eight congressional seats and hope to gain another under the new map.
Missouri's redistricting plan has faced lots of litigation. People Not Politicians, the group sponsoring the referendum drive, submitted more than 300,000 signatures.