JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — An organizing effort over a year in the making ended in the hands of Missouri Secretary of State Dennis “Denny” Hoskins (R) on Tuesday, Aug. 4 when he announced during a Jefferson City, Mo., press conference that a referendum to a congressional redistricting map violated Missouri Constitutional law.
Since September 2025, parties including People Not Politicians — a statewide political advocacy nonprofit — and Respect MO Voters — an organization centered around upholding Missouri’s initiative petition process — worked to gather signatures for a referendum to Missouri House Bill 1 (HB 1).
HB 1, known as the Missouri First Map, which was signed into law by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) on Sept. 28, 2025, after passing out of Missouri’s 103rd General Assembly on Sept. 12, 2025 — and sponsored by Missouri House District 159 Representative Dirk Deaton (R) and Missouri District 12 Senator Rusty Black (R) — focused on redrawing the boundaries for Missouri’s eight U.S. Congressional House Districts, including the seat of Missouri House Fifth U.S. House District Representative, Emanuel Cleaver (D).
Both Respect MO Voters and People Not Politicians announced that they individually collected over 300,000 signatures — with Respect MO Voters submitting 367,741 signatures to Hoskins’s office on May 3 and People Not Politicians submitting 305,968 signatures on Dec. 9, 2025, according to the organization’s websites, respectively — with a goal to have referendum language appear on Nov. 3 general election Missouri ballots opposing a congressional redistricting map.
Hoskins shared during a press conference on Aug. 4 that the local election authorities as well as county clerks had until July 27 to verify the submitted signatures, while his deadline to certify the signatures was 5 p.m., on Aug. 4 — including not only the referendum as unconstitutional but also these dates, as selected by the Missouri Legislature, insufficient.
“At issue is not the number of signatures turned into the challenge, the new congressional map, but the fact that the referendum itself is null and void by virtue of the fact that it is unconstitutional,” Hoskins said during a press conference, Aug. 4. “Therefore, House Bill 1, the Missouri First Map, continues to be the law of the land.”
Hoskins did not announce how many total signatures were verified and/or certified and emphasized that the volume, which was collected and submitted did not play a role in this decision.
“The fact that they had one or five hundred million signatures doesn’t really matter because they are unconstitutional,” he said during a press conference, Aug. 4.
Hoskins continued that this decision was supported by both Kehoe and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R).
“The deadlines for the certification don’t make sense; the deadline of 5 p.m. today, which also happens to be the same day as the primary election, does not make sense, and so for certification as sufficient or insufficient,” he said, Tuesday.
Following this press conference, People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard Von Glahn announced in a social media post that the organization would be filing a lawsuit against Hoskins regarding his referendum decision.
“Secretary of State Hoskins is making a last desperate attempt to silence the people’s voice in Missouri,” People Not Politicians wrote in a social media post, Aug. 4.
Von Glahn has filed a lawsuit against Hoskins in Cole County — Missouri’s 19th Judicial Circuit Court.
“Missourians are going to continue to show up and fight to make sure that our rights are respected and that the People Not Politicians referendum is certified for the ballot,” Von Glahn said in a social media post, Aug. 4.
As of Wednesday, Aug. 5, Hoskins has not released any further comments.
Julia Williams — a Kansas City native — is a reporter and digital producer for The Labor Beacon. A University of Missouri School of Journalism alumna, she previously served as the editor-in-chief of The Northeast News before joining The Labor Beacon staff.
Williams’s grandfather was a Claycomo Ford Motor Company retiree and avid UAW Local 249 supporter, allowing her to understand the union difference from a young age.
In her free time, Williams enjoys spending time with her family, traveling to see her friends and hanging out at home with her cat, Greta. She loves a good cup of coffee, seeing local, live music and shopping secondhand. With a passion for storytelling, she hopes to bring her knowledge of journalistic integrity to the Kansas City union community — giving union and labor workers a voice, while holding people in powerful positions accountable.
