Jefferson City, Missouri (AP) – Missouri legislators are Meetings in special sessions Redrawing the state’s US district as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to strengthen the chances of Republicans maintaining control of Congress in next year’s election.
The special session, in which Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe will be called, begins Wednesday and runs for at least a week.
Missouri is a third state that pursues the unusual work of medium-term redemption for partisan advantage. Republican-led Texas, Protruding out by Trumpwas First re-partitioned With a new map aimed at helping Republicans win five more Congressional seats.
But before Texas completes its work, democracy-led California had already fought back With a unique constituency change plan designed to give Democrats the opportunity to win five more seats. The California plan still requires voter approval in the November 4th election.
Other states can continue their own constituency change efforts.
Nationally, Democrats will need to win three seats next year to control the house. Historically, the president’s party usually loses seats in the midterm parliamentary elections.
What is your constituency?
At the start of each decade, the Census Bureau collects population data used to allocate 435 US home seats between states. He says growing compared to others could potentially win a House seat at the expense of states where populations have stagnated or declined. Some states may have their own restrictions, but there is nothing nationwide that bars states from redrawing districts in the middle of the decade.
In many states, constituencies are conducted by state legislators and require approval by the governor. Some states have special committees responsible for rezoning.
What is gerrymandering?
Partisan Gerrymander This occurs when the political parties responsible for the constituency change process draw the boundaries of the voting district into its advantages.
One common way is to draw a map where the majority party packs voters in a few districts supporting the other side, thus allowing the majority party to gain more surrounding districts. Another common method is for the majority party to dilute and dilute the power of the voters on the other side by diluting them into thin spreads between multiple districts.
US Supreme Court It was ruled in 2019 That federal court has no authority to determine whether partisan gerrymandering has gone too far. However, the state courts have said that such cases can still be determined under their own laws.
How can Missouri districts change?
Missouri is currently represented in the US home by six Republicans and two Democrats. The revised map proposed by Kehoe will photograph Republicans winning seven seats in the 2026 election.
It now targets the Kansas City area, owned by Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver, and runs eastward into rural areas that are leaning towards Republican-leaning. Meanwhile, other parts of Cleaver’s district will split and fold into the Republican district, currently represented by GOP officials Mark Alford and Sam Graves. Also, districts will be reorganised in the St. Louis area, but there will be relatively minor changes to the districts owned by Democrat Rep. Wesley Bell.
Republican lawmakers were considering potential 7-1 maps when they originally painted the district after the 2020 census. But the GOP majority has opposed it as it could potentially create a more competitive district that could backfire in a poor election year by facing legal challenges and allowing Democrats to win up to three seats.
Can other states take part in the constituency battle?
Mid-term rezoning Must occur in OhioBecause Republicans adopted the map of Congress without sufficient bipartisan support, according to the Constitution. It could create an opening for Republicans to seek to expand their 10-5 seats majority over Democrats.
Utah Court He ordered Republican-controlled Congress to pull out a new Congressional District after deciding that lawmakers avoided an independent constituency change committee established by voters to prevent the district from intentionally endorsing one party. Republicans now own all four U.S. House seats in the state, so the new map could help Democrats.
Other Republican-led states, such as Indiana and Florida, are considering rezoning with Trump’s urging. Officials from Democratic-led states such as Illinois, Maryland and New York have also spoken about trying to counter the Republican push.
What else is at risk in Missouri?
The special session agenda set up by Kehoe also includes proposed changes to Missouri’s voting measurement process.
One important change will make it difficult for citizen-hosted voting measures to be successful. If approved by voters, Missouri’s constitution will be amended so that all future voting initiatives will need not only a majority of the statewide vote, but also a majority of each legislative district’s votes to pass.
If such standards were introduced last year, Right revision of abortion The state constitution would have failed. The measure passed narrowly statewide for the strength of “yes” votes in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, but failed in rural council districts.
