A Missouri appeals court on Thursday signed off on revised ballot language for a referendum on the legislature’s 2025 congressional map, cutting back wording that critics said tilted the scale toward the new lines. The updated version drops a claim that the districts are “more compact” but keeps language saying the plan leaves more counties whole. The ruling lands while petition organizers and local election officials keep grinding through signature verification for a potential November statewide vote.
What the court approved
The Western District judge approved language that will ask voters: "Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled 'House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),' which repeals Missouri’s existing congressional plan, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more counties intact?"
The new summary is a tighter version of an earlier one that had described the map as keeping "more cities and counties intact, and are more compact." As reported by ABC17News, the appeals court’s wording replaces a version that a trial judge crafted last month.
How the question got here
The appellate ruling builds on a March decision from Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, who stripped out hotter phrases such as "gerrymandered" and language saying the map "protects incumbent politicians," while keeping other descriptive lines about the new districts. That rewrite set off a fresh fight over whether the Secretary of State’s summary treated both sides fairly and gave voters enough information. According to KBIA, Stumpe removed the most overtly partisan language but left in statements about how the new map preserves certain communities.
Reaction from petition backers
People Not Politicians, the group driving the referendum effort, challenged the Secretary of State’s original summary and zeroed in on the "compact" description as especially misleading. Executive director Richard von Glahn said the appeals court fixed what his group viewed as a skewed pitch to voters, writing, "For the second time, a court has ruled that the Secretary of State tried to mislead voters." The statement, reported by ABC17News, said the revised wording gives voters a clearer sense of what they are being asked to approve.
Why this matters for 2026
The battle over phrasing is one slice of a broader legal war over a mid‑decade 2025 map that opponents say was crafted to give Republicans an extra seat and supporters say better preserves communities. Organizers have turned in more than 300,000 signatures seeking a statewide referendum, and local officials are still sorting and checking whether enough are valid for the measure to qualify. The Associated Press has reported that the outcome could determine whether the 2025 map actually governs the 2026 midterm elections, and that additional court challenges are still in play. (AP).
What happens next
If the petition survives signature verification, state procedures will dictate whether the map is put on hold until voters weigh in and whether the question makes the November ballot. The Secretary of State’s petitions page lists the original certified ballot title, along with the rules for circulation and certification of referendum petitions. Lawyers and officials on both sides could still try to pull this case back into court as the August primary and November general election inch closer, and the separate lawsuits over the map itself continue. See the Secretary of State's petitions page for the certified title and circulation details: Secretary of State.
For now, the Western District’s decision narrows what voters will see on a potential referendum while the bigger fight over whether the 2025 map stands moves forward in courtrooms and election offices across the state. Observers will be watching whether People Not Politicians seeks any further appeals and whether signature verification ultimately sends the question to Missouri voters. As noted by Missouri Independent, the ruling marks the latest twist in a case that could reshape Missouri’s 2026 congressional map.
