Governor Kehoe Announces Special Session on Congressional Redistricting and Initiative Petition Reform

AUGUST 29, 2025

Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe announced that he has issued a proclamation to convene the General Assembly for a special session to enact legislation establishing updated congressional districts for the State of Missouri and amending the state’s initiative petition process.

The One Hundred Third General Assembly will convene for the Second Extraordinary Session of the First Regular Session in Jefferson City on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.

“Today, I am calling on the General Assembly to take action on congressional redistricting and initiative petition reform to ensure our districts and Constitution truly put Missouri values first,” said Governor Kehoe. “This is about clarity for voters and ownership of our future, and I hope the legislature will work together to pass our Missouri First Map and critically needed IP reform.”

To establish updated congressional districts for the State of Missouri, Governor Kehoe unveiled the Missouri First Map, a more compact, contiguous proposed map that was drawn and created by his team in Missouri to be considered by the General Assembly.

Highlights of the Missouri First Map:

• Splits fewer counties and municipalities than the current map.
• Preserves 2 congressional districts as currently drawn.
• Retains every current member of Missouri’s congressional delegation in their current districts.

To view images of the map, click here.

“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California, and Illinois,” said Governor Kehoe. “Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that.”

Governor Kehoe’s call also includes enacting legislation to amend the state’s initiative petition process with legislation that does the following:

• Bans foreign nationals from contributing to committees for or against a statewide ballot measure.
• Establishes a criminal election offense for fraudulently signing or gathering signatures for a statewide ballot measure.
• Provides that a statewide ballot measure be passed only if a majority of voters statewide and a majority of voters in each congressional district vote to adopt the proposed measure.
• Requires that before a statewide ballot measure is certified for signatures to be gathered, there shall be an opportunity for public comment.
• Requires that the full text of a statewide ballot measure be printed and available to voters at all election sites and polling places.
   

“For far too long, Missouri’s Constitution has been the victim of out-of-state special interests who deceive voters to pass out-of-touch policies,” said Governor Kehoe. “It's time we give voters a chance to protect our Constitution.”

To view Governor Kehoe's video announcement on the special session, click here.

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