KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A lawsuit filed in Cole County, Mo., Circuit Court asks the court to declare House Bill 1, which redrew Missouri's congressional district map, is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit states the bill is "unconstitutional because the Missouri Constitution does not allow redistricting more than once based on the same census.''
Two of the four plaintiffs in the suit live in the Kansas City area.
Kim Randolph Davis is a resident of Congressional District 5 under the 2022 map and House Bill 1 would mean she would become a resident in House District 4.
Rebeca Amezcua also is a resident in Congressional District 5 under the 2022 map and would also be moved into District 4 under Missouri House Bill 1.
The suit claims certain Plaintiffs "will be combined with other voters without sufficiently similar interests and communities.
The suit states every 10 years the U.S Census Bureau conducts a census, where every person in the United States is counted.
Those results are used for congressional apportionment. The new congressional districts were effective May 18, 2022, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also claims the new map was drawn based on the 2020 data, which is "outdated and does not correctly account for the number of people who currently reside in each congressional district as enacted by House Bill 1," the lawsuit states.
The suit asks the court to declare "House Bill 1 in violation of of Article III, Section 45 of the Missouri Constitution:
Enjoin the Secretary of State and the Secretary's Officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all those persons in active participation with the Secretary from using the map enacted by House Bill 1 to conduct any congressional election."
The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council also passed a resolution that would "oppose any legislative efforts to redistrict Kansas City out of the purview of the post-decennial census including but not limited to HB 1 "Composition of Congressional Districts and HB 2 "Composition of Congressional Districts."
In addition, the resolution states the City Attorney is authorized "to take any legal actions he determines appropriate to avail the rights of Kansas City and its residents in opposing efforts to redistrict Kansas City."
Charlie Keegan, KSHB 41's political reporter, who covered every minute of the recent special session on the congressional redistricting bill, said the the Jackson County Legislature adopted a similar measure Monday. Ordinance 6017 "authorizes the Jackson County Counselor's Office to pursue litigation or other legal strategies on behalf of the Jackson County Legislature in the event that redistricting of the 5th Congressional District occurs, for the purpose of opposing such redistricting."
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