The Missouri Supreme Court just unanimously agreed that Medicaid Expansion is the law of the land, upholding the constitutional amendment voters approved in August 2020 against budget challenges.

“It has been almost a decade since Missouri Health Care for All started fighting to make Medicaid expansion a reality. Today, we are excited to see Missouri cross the finish line and bring health care to 275,000 people,” Drew Noblot and Sarah Willey, Missouri Health Care for All interim co-executive directors said in a statement.

Click here for the full opinion.

“The process for voting and redistricting should be fair and not partisan. Fair maps count everyone and reflect the political will of voters from across the state,” LWVMO President Marilyn McLeod said after Governor Michael Parson named his appointments to bipartisan redistricting commissions. “Districts should be drawn to empower voters to pick the leaders who will represent them, not politicians picking the voters.”

The League will be contacting the new commissioners to request transparency as they work to draw new House and Senate district maps. The first meeting is set for the State Capitol on August 10. Click on the People Powered Maps image at right to see the list of commissioners.

LWVMO President Marilyn McLeod explained the redistricting process recently on the “Radio Friends with Paul Pepper” program. Watch the video at https://youtu.be/z0958wB6NNA.

Women Power Democracy is the League’s four-pronged approach to building trust in our elections, growing our electorate, creating fair voter access, and ensuring community districting reflects our population. Its components are: 

• Democracy Truth Project: Countering mis- and disinformation in our government and advancing public understanding of the democratic process;
• Expand the Franchise: Increasing voter participation, with a focus on underrepresented populations and low-propensity voters;
• Democracy Defense Fund: Protecting voting rights and advancing a more equitable democracy through advocacy and voter protection efforts; and 
• People Powered Fair Maps™: Leading with advocacy, public education, and organizing to create transparent, people-powered electoral maps and eliminate gerrymandering during 2021 redistricting. 

We partnered with Show Me Integrity for an Advocacy Day on Wednesday, April 28. President Evelyn Maddox led 18 members from across the state in sharing our support for Fair Maps and a transparent redistricting process, as well as our opposition to changes in the initiative petition process and strict photo ID rules that would disenfranchise voters.

On April 29, Sharon Geuea Jones gave an excellent presentation on “Can Gerrymandering Be Stopped?” Click here for a PDF of her slides or here for a recording of the webinar. We debuted a recording of singer/songwriter Shanna Jones performing People Power Makes Us Strong with lyrics written by Bill Clause. Look for the recordings on our YouTube channel.

Jones encouraged League members to help map communities of interest. Fair Missouri’s Sean Nicholson trained 14 members of LWV of Metro St. Louis in Districtr map-making software earlier on the 29th.

On May 4, Nicholson shared his insights on the 2021 redistricting process.

The Board of LWVMO believes that the Derek Chauvin conviction represents a turning point in police reform nationwide, and that our nation’s reckoning on racism has shown that we must address investments in economic opportunities, education, healthcare, and other community-led solutions throughout our country to cure the ills brought on by racism.

As we work to address racism and policing issues in Missouri, we encourage each member of our Missouri Leagues to include focus in their League programming on racial justice in policing and on the eradication of racism in their community.

Click here for the statement from LWVUS in response to the jury decision to hold Derek Chauvin accountable for George Floyd’s murder.

The Census released statewide data on April 26, but more detailed population data for drawing new maps for legislative districts won’t be released until August 16 or later. As legislative redistricting proceeds, League members across the state are actively working for fair maps and a transparent redistricting process, including submitting testimony at hearings by the House Special Committee on Redistricting. Click here for Fair Maps Matter, a guest column by Evelyn Maddox.

A Fair Redistricting committee headed by Sharon Schneeberger of Columbia hopes Missouri will follow the PACT guidelines proposed by Dr. Sheldon H. Jacobson of the University of Illinois.

P: People over politics in carrying out the redistricting process.
A: Accountability of those involved in making the maps.
C: Compromise in making decisions about the goals.
T: Transparency in each step of the process.

Amendment 3 overturned the redistricting reforms voters approved in 2018 and could allow twice the level of partisan gerrymandering typically described as “severe,” but it doesn’t have to. The League is especially concerned about language calling for “one person one vote” since it could make Missouri the only state not using the total population count when drawing legislative districts. That would leave out 1.5 million Missouri children.

Click here for LWVMO’s Fair Maps resource page.