Gerrymandering is undemocratic, but mid-decade redistricting to avoid losing in the midterms is just cheating.

What’s Going on?

  • Districts are boundaries that define where we vote and who represents us in the US Congress.

  • Missouri has 8 districts.

  • Right now, 6 of Missouri’s 8 districts are represented by Republicans. Only Kansas City and St. Louis have districts represented by Democrats. Princeton’s non-partisan Gerrymandering Project Redistricting Report Card gives Missouri’s current map an “A” for overall fairness.

  • Every 10 years, after the Census, states redraw their maps to reflect population changes. That’s called redistricting, and it’s a normal part of our democratic process. When maps are drawn to unfairly divide people to benefit a political party, it’s called gerrymandering.

  • The next Census isn’t until 2030, but Trump is pressuring Republicans to cheat and redistrict Missouri NOW.

  • To learn how this works without stressing yourself out, try playing the game “Can you Gerrymander Your Party to Power?” from the New York Times

Republicans proposed gerrymandered map, dividing Kansas City into 3 districts, thereby eliminating a Democratic voice

So What?

  • With record-low approval ratings, inflation on the rise, job growth slowing, and democracy under attack, the Republicans know that their policies aren’t very popular. Instead of changing their policies to reflect American values, Trump is pressuring Republicans to redistrict NOW to make it harder for Democrats to win in the midterm elections next year.

  • Kansas City’s Congressional District (District 5) is on the chopping block. Republicans plan to divide Kansas City’s population, which is more heavily Democratic and African-American, among three districts. This will leave Democrats a minority in all, thereby eliminating a Democratic district. All this is being done behind closed doors, in secret.

  • Gerrymandering is always undemocratic, regardless of the party that does it.

  • This one is especially unfair, since it comes outside of the census period when districts are drawn.

  • This power grab is an attempt to let politicians to choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. The result is skewed, unrepresentative maps where Republicans are virtually guaranteed to win.

  • 75% of Missouri’s representatives in the US Congress are Republicans, and 25% are Democrats.

  • In 2024, 40.1% of Missouri voters voted for the Democrat running for president (Harris), and 58.5% voted for the Republican (Trump).

  • If the redistricting efforts are successful, then 40.1% of voters would be represented by only ONE U.S. representative of the same party. This means 40% of the state would have only 12.5% of the representation!

Missouri’s Constitution AND the US Constitution call for redistricting every 10 years, after the census. Mid-decade redistricting is NOT supported by the Constitution.

Now What?

Things are changing daily. This section was last updated on Sunday, September 28.

Thousands of you called your representatives and joined us at the Missouri State Capitol on September 10th to protest this illegal power grab. However, the Missouri House and Senate still passed the new maps. The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law on September 28.

The Fight is Not Over.

  1. Lawsuits have been presented. You can see a summary of the lawsuit here: https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/missouri-congressional-redistricting-challenge-wise/.

  2. Missouri voters have a chance to undo these maps. To do so, we have to do the following:

    • Collect at least 117,000 signatures by mid-December, including signatures in 6 of the 8 congressional districts.

    • If completed, this will force a vote on the maps sometime in 2026.

    • If Missouri voters DO NOT support the new maps, then the current districts will remain.

If you are interested in helping to collect signatures, sign up on Mobilize.

For more information, visit https://peoplenotpoliticiansmo.org.