KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Jackson County Circuit Court judge Thursday denied a request to block Missouri’s new Congressional maps from taking effect.
Several lawsuits were filed in the days after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law a new set of Congressional maps for the state.
One such lawsuit was filed by voters in Jackson County, who alleged that the new maps were unconstitutional under Missouri law, alleging the law only allows such redistricting once every 10 years.
In his ruling Thursday, Judge Adam Caine denied the plaintiff’s request to block the new maps from taking effect, saying they failed to meet a “heavy burden” to allow the courts to intervene in a political process.
“Accordingly, this Court will respect the political determinations of the General Assembly, and it denies the Plaintiffs’ requested relief,” Caine wrote in his ruling.
LINK | Read the ruling
"This ruling is a complete victory for Missouri and for the people's elected representatives," Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "Thanks (to the) hard work of our legal team, the Missouri First Map stands, the rule of law is vindicated, and Missouri voters can have confidence that their legislature's work has been upheld."
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas called the judge’s ruling "disappointing" but "not the final word" in a statement released on Thursday.
"The map was drawn under pressure from Washington to divide Kansas City, not to serve Kansas Citians. The fight is not over. The Missouri Supreme Court has yet to rule. Kansas City deserves representation that reflects our community, not maps drawn to serve partisan interests in Washington,” Lucas said.
The matter was particularly relevant for voters in two of the Congressional districts in the Kansas City area. The new maps redraw the boundaries of the 5th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, and the 4th Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Mark Alford.
"Today, the court ruled what we have long known: The Missouri First Map is constitutional," Alford said in a statement to KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa. "With the dismissal of frivolous challenges from progressive activists, we're one step closer to ensuring the Show Me State's conservative values are adequately represented in Congress. The Missouri First Map stands, and I look forward to representing constituents in the 'New Fourth,' from the cornfields of Camden County to the urban core of Kansas City."
RELATED | Missouri candidates file for Congress amid uncertainty over new district map
"We respectfully disagree with the trial court's ruling, which misapplied the law and overlooked overwhelming evidence that the state's unprecedented mid-decade congressional map violates the Missouri Constitution's compactness requirement," a group including the Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU Voting Rights Project and the ACLU of Missouri said in a joint statement. "Drawn under direct pressure from the Trump Administration, the map divides the Kansas City area across multiple sprawling districts in clear violation of that constitutional mandate. If allowed to stand, it would represent a significant setback for fair representation in Missouri."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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