Missouri Secretary of State tells legislature: Stop trying to draw a new congressional map

As the Missouri Senate struggles to take up a revamped congressional map, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft claims there’s legal precedent for using the existing map — but experts disagree.
Before he entered the Missouri Senate lounge, state Rep. Dan Shaul reached into his pocket and took out a mint.

The chairman of a House committee redrawing Missouri’s eight congressional districts was expecting to present a plan his colleagues passed earlier this week. He remarked: “It’s kind of ironic that we’re eating lifesavers.”

Shaul’s quip turned out to be prophetic: The Senate committee handling congressional redistricting gaveled in on Thursday afternoon and then recessed just seconds later. It comes as Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is calling on lawmakers to abandon their last-ditch attempt to draw a map before Friday’s adjournment.

Ashcroft says there’s legal precedent for using the existing map but other experts disagree.