Petitioning to Check Partisan Map

Floor Speech

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Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, the State legislature may have forced through their partisan map, but in Missouri, the final word belongs to the people. Our constitution gives Missourians the right to check the politicians through the petition process.

No one asked for this map. Communities didn't demand it. Voters didn't vote for it. It was written to serve the administration, not Missouri. When politicians get it wrong, citizens have the chance to make it right.

That is why the petition process is so important. It is a chance for Missourians across the State--urban, rural, north, south, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian--to come together and say our voices matter, our votes matter, and we will decide what representation looks like.

This is bigger than party politics. It is about who holds the power in our democracy. I believe the power is in the people of Missouri-- more specifically, in the pen and signatures of the people of Missouri as we petition to save our democracy.

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