Democrats in Missouri are one step closer to freezing the new congressional maps drawn by the state legislature, designed to give Republicans more seats in Congress, Politico reported.
People Not Politicians, a committee formed to block the map, has submitted 305,000 signatures to the Missouri secretary of state, more than double the 107,000 signatures needed to trigger a referendum next year, the organization told Politico.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' office will now process the signatures and provide them to local elections districts for verification.
The new congressional map puts the seat of Democrat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in jeopardy, by moving it to a redder part of the state, instead of being in mainly blue Kansas City.
"Missouri voters are going to be the final deciders on this issue," said Richard von Glahn, executive director for People Not Politicians to Politico. "Our democracy belongs to us, not to politicians, and we're going to have the final say."
If the signatures are valid, the map would not be put in place until voters decide on the referendum, according to Politico.
If the measure is approved, the map would be discarded.
The state has said it would not verify any signatures collected before Oct. 14 unless ordered to do so by a judge, Politico reported.
A federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway seeking to block the referendum.
Under Missouri law, Hoskins has until July to process the signatures and determine if People Not Politicians' petition is valid.
With Missouri's filing deadline at the end of February, candidates may be forced to run in districts without knowing what their makeup would be.
Politico highlighted that the Republican-controlled legislature will set a date for the election and it is likely they will push to hold the election before Election Day, to allow their preferred maps to be implemented prior to the midterms.
Sam Barron ✉
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