ST. LOUIS– A last-ditch attempt by state lawmakers to redraw Missouri's congressional districts before courts might step in passed out of a House special committee Wednesday, with hopes that it could still get approval before the end of the 2022 legislative session next Friday and put into place in time for the August 2 primary election.
The latest map, which passed by a vote of 8-3, extends the first congressional district, encompassing the city of St. Louis and north St. Louis County, west to the Champ area near Maryland Heights.
The status of the second district, also serving the greater St. Louis area, has been the source of controversy throughout the map-making process. Lawmakers from St. Charles County have tried to put the entire county within a single district. Republicans have also sought to shore up its share of voters in what is currently the state's only potential swing district, represented by Ballwin Republican U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner.
The map voted out of committee Wednesday still splits St. Charles County into two districts, with rural areas of the northern portion of the county as part of the third congressional district, while the second district stretches from south St. Louis County into Franklin and Warren County.
The third district would also stretch into a portion of Jefferson County. The eighth district would extend from the state's southeast border to southern Jefferson County.
The map now moves to the House Rules committee, with an expectation that it could be on the House floor by Monday and to the Senate by Wednesday. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft told Spectrum News last week he wasn't certain that a map passed this late would logistically be possible to use in time for the August primary.
Meanwhile, lawsuits filed over the redistricting process will see time in state and federal courts in the coming days. A Cole County judge will hear motions Friday in a case filed by Republican party officials who want to prevent the state from using the existing congressional maps in August. On Monday, Paul Berry, who has filed a primary challenge to Wagner to run in the second district, will be in a federal courtroom asking for the appointment of a three-judge panel to draw new maps.
Missouri is the only state in the country that has yet to pass a redistricting plan.
The Associated Press contributed information for this story