Redistricting

The 16 aldermen who said farewell on Monday marked a collective 90 years of experience at the board, although half had served less than five years.

Republicans are in no danger of losing their legislative majorities in Missouri. Yet despite tough political headwinds, Democrats hope a new map that created more competitive districts will help them pick up seats.

Filed by attorney Chuck Hatfield on behalf of three plaintiffs, the lawsuit names the Judicial Redistricting Commission and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft as defendants. The commission created the map and Ashcroft implemented it for this year’s elections.

Survey data shows 6 states undercounted, 8 overcounted. The error has implications for political districts and federal funding availability.

The lawsuit takes issue with the changes the proposition would make and the way it was proposed to voters.

The new map passed by the House likely would keep Missouri’s current congressional delegation of six Republicans and two Democrats. It now goes to the Missouri Senate with only four days left in the legislative session.

Proposition R strengthens ethics provisions for the Board of Aldermen and makes it harder for the city board to reverse changes to the city’s elections policies.

The House vote against the map comes after the Senate rejected the House’s request for a conference committee to find a compromise on the bill. If the stalemate doesn’t break, the task of drawing the maps would likely go to the courts.

Proposition R would put a citizens commission in charge of drawing wards in the future. Its backers have already said they would not use the new process until 2030.

The map makes several changes compared to the House version that passed in January, including adding an emergency clause, which would put it into effect before the Aug. 2 primary.