Prop A

Voters defeated Prop A in Tuesday’s election, meaning Missouri will continue to use the congressional map approved in 2022.
The referendum was prompted by Missouri Republicans, who in 2025 redrew the state’s congressional maps in an attempt to gerrymander a Kansas City-area seat out of Democratic control.
Tuesday’s vote came after back-and-forth from state and federal court rulings, which left uncertainty about whether Prop A would appear in front of voters until relatively late in election season.
Proposition A was put on the ballot through an initiative petition from activist group People Not Politicians, which gathered over 300,000 signatures. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins then attempted to block the referendum and preserve the use of the 2025 map, a move that was reversed by the Missouri Supreme Court in September. This allowed the ballot measure to be voted on by Missouri residents rather than having Missouri legislators decide which map would be used.
People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard Von Glahn spoke Tuesday night in a social media post, two hours before the Prop A election was called.
“(Prop A is) about a much larger question, about who democracy needs to focus on and who it belongs to,” Von Glahn said. “And the answer is us.”
Had the 2025 map been approved, Kansas City’s 5th District was set to be redrawn to include a dozen deep-red counties. This would have jeopardized Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s odds for reelection if he chose to run again in 2028.
Prior to the election, several Republican lawmakers voiced support for another redistricting attempt in advance of the 2028 election. It is unclear whether or not those rumblings could gain steam in Missouri’s upcoming legislative session.
Republicans initially set out to make a map the favored the GOP in seven of the state's eight congressional districts. By the end of the night Tuesday, Democrats had swung the balance to 5-3 — Democrat Fred Wellman defeated incumbent Rep. Ann Wagner, a Republican, in suburban St. Louis's 2nd District.