NRF-Supported Plaintiffs File Lawsuit Against Missouri’s New Congressional Gerrymander
For Immediate Release
September 28, 2025
Contact
Madia Coleman
comms@redistrictingfoundation.org
Washington, D.C. – Today, plaintiffs supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) initiated a legal challenge against the newly enacted congressional gerrymander in the Missouri state Circuit Court of Jackson County, asking the court to bar the State of Missouri from using the new gerrymander in upcoming congressional elections and to strike down the new gerrymander for violating the rights of Missourians guaranteed by the state constitution. The NRF is directing litigation and providing financial support on behalf of the Healey plaintiffs in this case. The full brief in the case, Healey v. Missouri, can be viewed here.
Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the NRF, issued the following statement:
“Missouri’s mid-decade gerrymander is in clear violation of the state constitution. It was not prompted by the law or a court order; it was the result of Republican lawmakers in Missouri following partisan directives from politicians in Washington, D.C. The new gerrymander undermines representation for rural and urban communities by forcing these very different communities into districts that stretch hundreds of miles across the state. This is a clear-cut case, and we are confident Missourians will see justice delivered.”
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON LEGAL CLAIMS:
Following the 2020 census, the Missouri House and Senate rejected congressional gerrymanders that would have carved up Kansas City, and, instead, enacted the state's current map, which gives Kansas City its own district.
However, in July 2025, public reports indicated that President Trump began pressuring Missouri Republicans to enact a mid-decade gerrymander to create another Republican-leaning district by splitting the 5th congressional district, which included all of Kansas City. In August, despite receiving calls from constituents demonstrating overwhelming opposition, Governor Mike Kehoe called a special session in the Missouri General Assembly in order to pass a new congressional gerrymander that would split Kansas City into three districts that stretch hundreds of miles away. In September, lawmakers in the Missouri House and Senate passed the proposed gerrymander, ignoring overwhelming opposition in committee hearings in both chambers, and Governor Kehoe signed it into law.
Immediately after the enactment of the new gerrymander, the NRF-supported plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in state court arguing that the map violates Article III, Section 45 of the Missouri Constitution, which requires that after each decennial census, “the general assembly shall by law divide the state into districts corresponding with the number of representatives to which it is entitled, which districts shall be composed of contiguous territory as compact and as nearly equal in population as may be.” More specifically, the claims are the following:
Unconstitutional Mid-Decade Redistricting: Given that the new gerrymander was drawn mid-decade without a new decennial census count, it violates the state constitution. Article III, Section 45 of the Missouri Constitution is only triggered when the results of the new U.S. Census count are revealed at the start of each decade.
Non-Compactness: The new gerrymander violates Missourians’ right to vote in compact congressional districts—a right that is guaranteed by the state constitution—by clearly prioritizing partisan considerations over the state’s redistricting rules.
To learn more about the NRF’s work, click here.
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