Missouri voters blocked a GOP-drawn congressional map from going into effect for future elections via a ballot measure, NBC News projects.
\n\nThe result is a blow for Republicans, who fought for more than a year to carve up one of the state’s two-Democratic held districts.
\n\nThe vote marked the culmination of a long-running political and legal fight. Missouri is one of the GOP-led states that heeded President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting call, passing new lines in 2025 that drew longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver into a heavily Republican district.
\n\nIn response, a group called People Not Politicians Missouri said it gathered more than 300,000 signatures — well above the 106,000 necessary — to place a referendum on the ballot that gave voters the opportunity to veto the map.
\n\nLegislation facing such a referendum is typically put on hold until voters have weighed in, but Missouri Republicans fought to put the map in place for this year’s midterms. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, waited until the statutory deadline in August to announce that he wouldn’t certify the referendum for the November ballot, saying it was unconstitutional.
\n\nThe issue ricocheted through the state and federal court system, at times…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health