Missouri’s top election official rejects a citizens’ petition seeking a statewide referendum on new congressional district maps. The proposal would determine whether Missouri uses a US House map approved by the Republican-led state legislature. Petition supporters submitted hundreds of thousands of signatures and aimed to place the question on the ballot in November. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejects the effort, stating the petition is void because congressional redistricting plans cannot be subject to voter referendums under state rules. The reports describe the rejection as a decision to prevent the requested vote from being held, effectively leaving the legislature-approved congressional map in place for upcoming elections. Across the coverage, the central issue is the legal eligibility of congressional redistricting for direct voter approval, and Hoskins’s determination that such referendums are not permitted. The outlets provide consistent accounts of the petition drive, its Trump-backed association, and Hoskins’s ruling that blocks the November referendum.