Voters sue Hoskins to the tune of $80 million over his handling of referendum signatures

By Max Quinn, Missouri News Network
Five Missouri voters have filed a class-action lawsuit against Missouri's Secretary of State over his handling of the state's congressional map ahead of the November election.
The plaintiffs claim Denny Hoskins' conduct affected their rights under the Missouri Constitution. They are asking that all registered Missouri voters who signed the petition and still live in Missouri receive $500.
The group said 162,171 signatures were verified by local election authorities before Hoskins disallowed them, meaning the payout could potentially top $80 million.
The political campaign committee People Not Politicians started the initiative petition, which the plaintiffs signed, to force a statewide vote on the gerrymandered 2025 congressional map.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to certify the petition hours before the deadline on Aug. 4, declaring it was unconstitutional.
But after a legal battle between Hoskins and the campaign group, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the sufficient petition froze the gerrymandered map, which had been used in the August primaries.
The 2022 map will be used in November, while voters will decide whether the 2025 gerrymandered map is valid.
Plaintiffs Fernando Bermudez, Joseph Welling and John Payne are from the city of St. Louis, while Gregory Fletcher and Cara Mengwasser are from St. Louis County, according to online court documents.
Bermudez, Mengwasser and Welling work in law, Fletcher is a certified accountant and Payne is a small business owner, according to their court filing.
Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker is assigned to the case.