Paul, Weiss and Co-counsel Secure Missouri Redistricting Victory

Paul Weiss, in collaboration with the Brennan Center for Justice and local counsel, successfully blocked a proposal by the Missouri state legislature to overturn redistricting reforms that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2018. The legislature proposed a referendum for this year’s election ballot that would eviscerate the 2018 reforms, which protect minority voting rights and reduce partisan gerrymandering, without clearly disclosing to voters the true nature and impact of the referendum. The Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri held that the “summary” statement drafted by the legislature to explain the ballot proposal violates the law because it conceals the actual purpose of the referendum—that is, to undo the election reforms approved by the voters just two years ago.

Litigation partner Robert Atkins and of counsel Sidney Rosdeitcher supervised the matter. The team included litigation associates Matthew Barnett, Kerissa Barron, David Kimball-Stanley, Lin Meneguin Layerenza, Sarah Moseley, Pietro Signoracci, Jonathan Silberstein-Loeb and Ethan Stern.