Jefferson City, Missouri - Opponents of Missouri's new Republican-drawn congressional maps submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures calling for a statewide referendum on the new district lines.

People Not Politicians announced it had turned in 305,968 signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State's Office on Tuesday in a bid to block the new maps from taking effect before next year's midterms.

The number of signatures submitted far exceeded the approximately 107,000 required to hold a referendum on the maps in 2026.

Missouri's Republican-controlled state legislature in September approved new maps in an apparent attempt to push out Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver.

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The effort is part of wider mid-cycle redistricting battles that have erupted as the Trump administration pressures GOP-controlled state legislatures to redraw their electoral lines.

The moves are intended to help Republicans retain control of the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms.

Missouri's Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and election officials have until late July to verify the signatures, with legal battles possibly on the horizon.

"I'm going to do everything I can to protect Gov. [Mike] Kehoe's Missouri First Map – the map the General Assembly passed," Hoskins told the Associated Press.