Lawmaker power to draw gerrymandered congressional map tested at Missouri Supreme Court

[RandySF]

The first case challenging Missouri’s gerrymandered redistricting plan to reach the state Supreme Court questions whether lawmakers had the power to enact the plan at all.

The court’s seven judges on Tuesday spent nearly an hour discussing the definition of a single word — “when” — and what it means in the constitutional directive to make congressional districts after each census.

The constitution states that “when the number of representatives to which the state is entitled” is reported after each census, “the General Assembly shall by law divide the state into districts corresponding with the number of representatives to which it is entitled…”

“‘When’ means ‘when’ and we think that language is quite clear,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents the plaintiffs asking the court to throw out the map passed in a special session last year.



https://missouriindependent.com/2026/03/10/lawmaker-power-to-draw-gerrymandered-congressional-map-tested-at-missouri-supreme-court/