Missouri voters file second class action lawsuit against Denny Hoskins in less than a week

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was sued again Wednesday over his handling of the state’s congressional redistricting referendum.

The proposed class action is the second filed against Hoskins in less than a week and the third lawsuit against him overall during that span. It seeks damages for voters who cast August primary ballots in congressional districts different from the ones they will vote in for the November general election.

Plaintiffs Kate Dennis of Jackson County and Curry Spray of Clay County argue Hoskins deliberately delayed ruling on the referendum challenging Missouri’s 2025 congressional map until it was too late to prevent the disputed districts from being used in the Aug. 4 primary.

They are asking a Cole County judge to certify a class consisting of voters who cast primary ballots in one congressional district under the 2025 map but will vote in another under the 2022 map in the Nov. 3 general election. The lawsuit estimates the group could include tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of voters.

The lawsuit seeks $500 for each member of the class, along with compensatory damages.

A spokeswoman for Hoskins could not comment on pending litigation.

Hoskins had argued since at least December that the Missouri Constitution does not allow voters to use a referendum to challenge a congressional map. But he waited until roughly an hour before an Aug. 4 deadline to formally reject the referendum on that basis.

The plaintiffs contend that delay caused Missouri to conduct its primary using the 2025 districts even though the Missouri Supreme Court later ruled the referendum was legal, sufficient and timely and that the new congressional map never took effect.

Missouri Supreme Court finds Denny Hoskins ‘was in contempt’ over congressional maps

The court ordered the November election conducted using the congressional map adopted in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court last week blocked a federal court order that would have allowed the 2025 map to be used while litigation continued.

Dennis lives in the 5th Congressional District under the 2022 map but was placed in the 4th District under the 2025 boundaries. She voted in the 4th District primary but will vote in the 5th District in November.

Spray likewise voted in the 6th District primary under the 2025 map but will vote in the 5th District in November.

The lawsuit alleges they and other voters were deprived of the ability to participate in choosing the congressional candidates who will appear on their general-election ballots.

The plaintiffs rely in part on a Missouri law allowing someone harmed when the secretary of state neglects or refuses to perform a legally required duty to recover between $100 and $500. They are seeking the maximum amount and are suing Hoskins in his individual capacity and, alternatively, in his official capacity.

The lawsuit is the latest in a burst of litigation targeting Hoskins.

Five Missouri voters filed a proposed class action Friday seeking roughly $80 million over Hoskins’ handling of signatures submitted for the same redistricting referendum. That case seeks $500 for each of about 162,000 people whose signatures were verified by local election officials.

Then on Monday, former state election integrity director Nick La Strada sued Hoskins and the state, alleging he was fired after raising concerns about potentially illegal activity inside the secretary of state’s office. Among other allegations, La Strada accused the office of improperly changing certified results in a local election and considering a plan to fabricate a whistleblower complaint for use in federal litigation. Hoskins’ office has said it does not comment on pending litigation.

No court has ruled that Hoskins is liable in any of the three lawsuits.

The newest case argues that the consequences of the redistricting dispute cannot be undone for voters who participated in the August primary.

“Plaintiffs and similarly situated individuals,” the lawsuit states, “will cast their general election vote for candidates whom they had no role in nominating.”