A protestor holds a sign in opposition to a plan redrawing Missouri's U.S. House districts during a rally at the state Capitol, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Missouri Republicans passed a new gerrymandered map in both chambers of the state legislature last week, prompting lawsuits and a petition process that could derail the plan.

Missouri Republicans had been facing pressure from President Donald Trump and his administration to implement a new congressional map to give the GOP an additional seat from the state in the 2026 midterms. After Texas Republicans successfully gerrymandered their state even further, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) called a special session to rig the map for his state.

A lawsuit filed by the Missouri National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) argues that the governor’s actions are a “blatant effort to silence Black voters and strip them of their fundamental rights.” The new GOP-drawn map carves the state’s 5th Congressional District — which is held by U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) — and makes it likely that he will lose the seat in the 2026 midterms and give the GOP seven of Missouri’s eight congressional seats.

A separate lawsuit was filed in Jackson County by voters in Cleaver’s district. The Missouri branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues that the new map should be thrown out on the basis that redistricting before a decennial U.S. Census is an illegal action under the state’s constitution.

“In a blatant illegal and unconstitutional power grab, the governor bowed to the whims of Washington while sacrificing representation in both urban and rural populations of Missouri,” said Gillian Wilcox, director of litigation for the ACLU of Missouri, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

Voters in the 5th Congressional District will also be represented by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC). Mark Gaber, CLC’s senior director of redistricting, claims that the Missouri Republicans assigned one precinct to two different congressional districts, illegally creating two different maps.

The maps could also face a direct democracy challenge from the group People NOT Politicians, who filed a citizen referendum after the maps were passed on Friday. This process seeks to put the map on the 2026 ballot for voters to decide on whether to implement it. People NOT Politicians would need to collect 100,000 signatures in 90 days to successfully put the map on the ballot.

The organization first needs approval from the Secretary of State’s Office, which is waiting on Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) for legal review and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick (R) for a cost estimate.

“Only after the Attorney General has rendered an opinion on legal sufficiency and the secretary of state has reviewed those comments can this office make a final determination regarding the approval or rejection of the form of the petition,” the office said in a letter to People NOT Politicians.