Missouri House advances 6-2 congressional redistricting map, rejects 7-1 proposals
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House of Representatives advanced a new congressional district map Tuesday, rejecting changes proposed by Democrats and some conservatives in favor of a Republican-led map that will retain the state's current partisan alignment.
The map, composed of six Republican-favored seats and two Democratic-favored seats, now awaits a final vote in the House to send it to the Senate. It was advanced by a vote of 84-60, with 13 members absent.
"I think this is a fair bill, a fair map," said Rep. Dan Shaul, a Republican from Imperial and the chair of the House's redistricting committee.
Democrats, as well as several Republicans who desired a more aggressive map that would likely gain another GOP seat voted against the bill.
Springfield's House delegation split 3-3 on the map. Reps. Craig Fishel, Bill Owen and Alex Riley, all Republicans, voted yes. Rep. Curtis Trent, a Republican, joined the two Democrats — Minority Leader Crystal Quade and Rep. Betsy Fogle — in voting no.
Several Republican attempts to cut out the blue 5th district in favor of a 7-1 map were rejected by the chamber.
Rep. Nick Schroer, an O'Fallon Republican, proposed a 7-1 map that was later withdrawn after it was found to have violated the rule of equal population size.
"With this map, we are trying to save this republic," Schroer said. "We are trying to ensure the representatives we are putting forth ... are representing the core values of this state of Missouri."
Democrats heavily criticized the 7-1 maps, saying they didn't properly represent the state. The minority party has argued that based on vote totals in recent elections, seats should be allocated to three Democrats and five Republicans. Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat, said the move was "openly, overtly gerrymandering."
A vote was taken on a map presented by Republican Rep. Ron Hicks of Defiance, who called his version a "7-1 map." It failed, but earned the votes of some Republicans — including Springfield's Trent.
Quade also proposed alterations to the map, which would have put part of Jackson County in the Kansas City area in the northern 6th district, as some of it currently is. She said her map would allow many of the residents in that area to retain their same congressperson.
Her amended map was shot down Tuesday by a voice vote.
The minority leader had proposed her own map to the House committee last week, but it was not brought up for a vote in that committee.
"The intent of this (map) is to show that there are options," Quade told the House committee. "My intention was to take the data we have and present that there are other opportunities that I hope we can discuss."
Democrats hold leverage on emergency clause
When the chamber revisits the map for a final vote, likely later this week, members will also debate attaching an emergency clause to the map.
This clause allows the map to take effect far sooner than it would without one — under Missouri law, a bill passed without an emergency clause takes effect 90 days after the end of session. This case is time sensitive, however, due to filing deadlines for midterm elections; without new districts in place, candidates cannot officially file to run in them.
It takes a two-thirds vote to approve an emergency clause — a margin that House Republicans currently do not hold and thus need Democrats' support.
Quade said last week she wasn't sure the congressional map "constitutes a constitutional emergency," and said her caucus was discussing how they would vote on it.
She has previously said her party would be discussing a number of proposals — including policy priorities and budget items — that could earn Democratic votes for the emergency clause measure.
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri House of Representatives advances 6-2 congressional map
