Missouri House Passes Bills Restricting Ballot Measures, Enacting Gerrymandered Map

The Missouri House has approved measures that would significantly reshape the state's political landscape by enacting a heavily gerrymandered congressional map favoring Republicans and making it substantially harder for voters to pass constitutional amendments via the initiative petition process. The proposed redistricting, pushed under pressure from President Donald Trump, targets diluting Democratic influence by breaking up the 5th District and ensuring Republicans hold majorities in seven of eight districts. Concurrently, a constitutional amendment proposal by Rep. Ed Lewis would require future ballot initiatives to win not only a statewide majority but also a majority in all eight congressional districts, effectively raising the bar for voter-approved changes and potentially allowing a small minority to block initiatives. Supporters argue these changes prevent partisan or out-of-state interests from easily amending the state constitution and ensure broader consensus, while critics see them as efforts to entrench GOP power and restrict direct democracy. Alongside these changes, additional provisions would ban foreign contributions to petition campaigns and introduce stricter regulations on petition processes. If passed by the Senate, these proposals would be placed on the 2026 statewide ballot for voter approval.