JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republicans in the Missouri House gave preliminary approval Monday to a plan asking voters to make it harder for citizens to change the state Constitution through ballot questions.

Facing heavy opposition and sit-in protests over the weekend by Democrats, the GOP-led chamber also was poised to give first-round approval Monday night to a landmark plan to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries to give President Donald Trump one additional safe Republican seat in the tightly contested U.S. House.

Monday’s initial votes are preliminary, with plans to take final, official votes on Tuesday before the proposals move to the Senate for deliberation.

Lawmakers are meeting in a special session called last month by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe after the president began pressing Republican states to redraw their congressional boundaries to favor more GOP candidates in hopes of staving off the possible loss of the U.S. House during the 2026 midterm elections.

Kehoe added a separate plan to change the initiative process used by citizens to change the constitution to include a requirement that a ballot question win a majority in each of the eight congressional districts, as well as a majority of the state’s overall voters.

The measure advanced on a 96-55 vote with some notable "no" votes from members of the Republican super-majority, including House Speaker Jon Patterson of Lee's Summit and Rep. Rudy Veit of Wardsville, who is running for a seat in the state Senate.

Republicans argue that progressive ballot questions, such as the ones that legalized abortion and expanded Medicaid, often are approved on the strength of the state’s urban population centers in St. Louis and Kansas City, leaving rural voters living under policies they do not support.

“To change the constitution of the state of Missouri there should be broad consensus,” said Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, who sponsored the changes.

Analysts and Democrats say the new threshold for passage contained in House Joint Resolution 3 will gut the process by making it prohibitively expensive to run a campaign if voters in one congressional district have the power to dump a ballot question.

“You know that’s not fair,” said Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia. “It’s ridiculous. You’re making things virtually impossible to pass.”

The measure also would ban foreign adversaries from spending money on campaigns, a provision that Democrats said was “ballot candy” designed to sway voters to give up their power to change the constitution.

“This is lipstick on a pig,” said Rep. Eric Woods, D-Kansas City. “You are taking power away from the citizens. You are diluting their votes.”

Missouri’s decision to wade into the redistricting fight comes after Texas launched the process with a special session last month, hoping to net Trump five GOP seats.

The redrawn map mainly targets U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s 5th District by stretching its boundaries across the state to dilute the 11-term congressman’s longtime Democratic base in Kansas City.

According to the governor’s office, the new map giving Republicans a shot at holding seven of the state’s eight districts was created in Missouri by aides to the governor, not in Washington, D.C.

“Governor Kehoe directed his staff, which includes several members with extensive knowledge and experience in the redistricting and map-drawing process, to create a new congressional map,” spokeswoman Gabby Picard said. “Ultimately, the Missouri First map reflects the governor’s vision and direction.”

Under House Bill 1, each district will have an estimated 769,000 residents. The reconfigured St. Louis-focused 1st district, now represented by Democrat U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, is the only district with a racial majority, according to figures provided by the governor’s office.

Democrats said the two separate issues are intrinsically linked by racism.

“Republicans are sabotaging the initiative petition process and stealing a congressional seat to silence our voices and weaken the power of black and brown communities,” said Rep. Tiffany Price, D-Kansas City.

Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor over the weekend in protest of Speaker Jon Patterson’s decision to open the special session without a quorum of all lawmakers present.

They argue that the lack of a quorum while lawmakers worked last week could become part of a lawsuit seeking to throw out the changes.

There also may be legal action about whether a mid-decade redistricting process without a new census is legal.

On her first day on the job Monday, newly appointed Attorney General Catherine Hanaway told reporters she believes the effort can go forward.

“I don’t think it’s wrong that we’re taking another look,” Hanaway said.

_____

©2025 STLtoday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.