Missouri redistricting

Fred Wellman is the host of the On Democracy podcast, which has been critical of the Republican Party's gravitation to Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Committee on Monday announced it will send people and money to help a referendum effort aimed at blocking a new congressional map from going into effect.

The new map breaks the Kansas-City-based district of Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver into three in an effort to make it more Republican-leaning.

In the bill text detailing Missouri's new congressional maps, one Kansas City precinct appears to be included in both the 4th and 5th districts. That would mean those voters would get to vote for two representatives in Congress. Gov. Mike Kehoe disputed that the voters have been allocated to two districts.

If redistricting opponents can convince the courts that the constitution doesn’t authorize mid-decade redistricting, then the map passed earlier this month likely won’t go into effect.

The special session featured a number of unprecedented actions that would have been unthinkable before July when it became clear that Missouri would join other states overhauling their congressional lines.

State Sen. Lincoln Hough voted against efforts to end debate on gerrymandering and initiative petition bills — and was swiftly removed as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Missouri's new congressional map carves up Kansas City into three separate districts, fulfilling the wishes of President Donald Trump.

The group People Not Politicians announced Friday that it plans on gathering signatures to prevent the new congressional map from going into effect until there’s a statewide vote.

Missouri senators are expected to debate and then vote Friday on redistricting that seeks to oust Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver as well as a plan to make it harder to pass citizen-led constitutional amendments.