Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon on Wednesday said she won't revise voter lists to reflect the gerrymandered congressional districts approved last year until Secretary of State Denny Hoskins decides whether there will be a referendum on the map.
The Missouri Supreme Court decision Tuesday denying a request to put the map on hold until a statewide vote puts too much uncertainty into the future of the map, Lennon, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to Hoskins. The court ruled that the Missouri Constitution's provision delaying the implementation of a law when it is sent to voters is not triggered until Hoskins issues a decision on whether the referendum petitions have enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Hoskins' decision is not due until Aug. 4, the same day of the primary election. To prepare for that primary, she wrote, voter information must be updated by May 26 and ballots for overseas military voters must be mailed by June 19.
"Delaying your decision compromises both the administration and integrity of the election and, worse, breeds public distrust in the process," Lennon wrote.
Hoskins, a Republican from Warrensburg, in an interview with The Independent accused Lennon of defying the state's highest court.
"It appears she's saying she's not going to do her job," Hoskins said, "but she's going to defy the unanimous decision yesterday by the Missouri Supreme Court, defy the direction provided by the secretary of state, who is the chief election officer of the state of Missouri, and defy the direction provided by Attorney General (Catherine) Hanaway."
The court ruled Tuesday that the new map would be suspended as of Dec. 9, the day the political action committee People Not Politicians turned in its petitions, if Hoskins rules it has enough signatures.
"I am caught in the untenable position of trying to predict when and how you will issue a determination about the sufficiency of the petition," Lennon wrote. "Until that time, I have no actionable legal information as to what congressional district map is in effect so I will not be making any changes to the map that was in place prior to the enactment of (the new map)."
Lennon's refusal to make changes to her county's voter list is the latest twist in a fight that began last summer when President Donald Trump began pressuring Missouri Republicans for help to maintain the slim Republican majority in the U.S. House.
Republicans used their supermajorities in the legislature to suppress Democratic opposition, moves that included changing state Senate rules to limit opportunities for a filibuster.
The opposition after passage moved on two tracks, with lawsuits seeking to toss the new map and the referendum campaign seeking to repeal it.
The court track, so far, has not proved fruitful. Since the new map was passed, the courts have upheld Gov. Mike Kehoe's authority to convene the special session, lawmakers' authority to pass the map and the constitutionality of the districts it creates.
While the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the new map would be suspended if the referendum petition is sufficient, it also means that Hoskins' decision to use it for candidate filing and the primary remains in place.
Republicans hold six of Missouri's eight seats in Congress and the partisan goal of the new map is to oust 5th District U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, by splitting Kansas City and adding voters in 14 counties along the Missouri River.
The district that elected Cleaver to his 11th term in 2024 included most of Kansas City and a portion of Jackson and Clay counties outside the city. For most of the counties added to the district in the new map, and other counties shifted to allow the gerrymander, the update to voter rolls is simple because it is every voter in the county.
But when counties or cities are split, precise data detailing where the lines fall is necessary and some shifts are on a voter-by-voter basis.
In an interview with The Independent, Lennon said about 45% of the more than 130,000 voters in the county would be assigned to new congressional districts if the map is in effect. The county was split between the 3rd and 4th districts in the district plan passed in 2022 and is split between the 3rd and 5th districts in the new plan.
The new map also splits existing precincts, and Lennon said she must arrange voter districts so voters receive ballots that are correct for their residence.
"The amount of granular work that's involved and the impact overall is unique to Boone," Lennon said.
So far, she added, she hasn't received the detailed information necessary to update the voter rolls, she said.
"The secretary of state's office also hasn't given us the tools to be able to redistrict even if they wanted us to," Lennon said.
Hoskins disputed that claim in an interview with The Independent, saying Lennon must update the voter rolls and she has been provided with sufficient information to start the process.
Hoskins maintains the Missouri Centralized Voter Registration system but the information included is added and updated by county clerks. The information that is attached to each voter's personal details includes the Missouri House, state Senate and congressional districts.
Hoskins has no plans to speed up his decision on the referendum. And his tools to force Lennon to change the voter list are limited.
"Ultimately, the courts, and probably only the courts, could force her to do something," he said.
Lennon said she knows Hoskins may sue over her action.
"I have considered that possibility," she said.
Even if the referendum has enough signatures — and reports from local election authorities indicate it does — Hoskins contends it will not be used for this year's elections.
"Between 2026 and 2028 we would have the Missouri First Map, and then, depending on the outcome of that referendum election in November, we could go back to the old maps," Hoskins said.
Instead of certifying the petition as sufficient, which would suspend the measure creating the new map, Hoskins has another option, suggested in a federal court decision in December.
U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone of the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed a case arguing that a referendum on a congressional redistricting plan violates the federal constitution.
In his ruling, Bluestone said Hoskins could declare that the referendum is not legal and force People Not Politicians to go to court to reverse him.
On Wednesday, Hoskins said he is still considering that option.
"I do have some questions even about the constitutionality of a referendum on congressional redistricting," he said.
He hasn't decided to take that path, he said.
"Most certainly, I'm going to take my time and do some research and continue to collect information to see if I do believe that is constitutional or not," Hoskins said.
Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, said he supports Lennon's demand that Hoskins' make his call on the referendum because the Missouri Supreme Court decision left open the possibility the map will be suspended.
"They were very clear that they don't know what map is in effect," von Glahn.
Von Glahn said he was unaware of any other local election authority following Lennon's lead. They should, he said.
"It's totally appropriate for any of those clerks to say to Denny, you have to do something," von Glahn said. "Otherwise, we don't know what to do."
This was first published by the Missouri Independent, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering state government, politics and policy, and is reprinted with permission.
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