Elections-Congressional District Map-Suspension by Referendum

Plaintiffs appealed the trial court’s judgment, which ruled that the legislature’s bill adopting a new Congressional district map was not automatically suspended upon the filing of a referendum seeking voter approval of the map. Plaintiffs argued that the secretary of state unconstitutionally delayed suspension of the law until the issuance of a certificate of sufficiency.

Where there was no evidence that the secretary knew or could have known that the signatures on the referendum petition were sufficient, there was no constitutional obligation to automatically suspend enforcement of the new Congressional map upon filing of the petition pending issuance of the certificate of sufficiency.

Judgment is affirmed.

Maggard v. State (MLW No. 84793/Case No. SC101581 – 17 pages) (Supreme Court of Missouri, Gooch, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Cole County, Stumpe, J. (Tori Schafer and Jonathan D. Schmid, St. Louis; Matthew P. Gordon, Jonathan P. Hawley and Kevin J. Hamilton, Seattle, WA for appellants) (Louis J. Capozzi III, J. Patrick Sullivan and J. Michael Patton, Jefferson City for respondent)