Missouri’s waylaid congressional redistricting saga hits another roadblock

Missouri lawmakers continue to struggle to compromise on redrawing Missouri’s eight congressional districts.
Missouri’s beleaguered congressional redistricting process is facing yet another delay.

Senators were supposed to hold a hearing on a map the Missouri House passed on Monday. But that meeting got postponed until Thursday afternoon after the Senate spent most of Wednesday dealing with contentious items.

They include a proposal from Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo, that would make it more difficult for constitutional amendments to make it into the Missouri Constitution. The proposal, a priority for Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, would make organizers of constitutional ballot items get more signatures — and require at least a two-thirds majority for implementation instead of a simple majority.

“I think setting a little bit higher bar for [constitutional amendments] is important,” Crawford said during debate over the proposal.