Updated 10:43 a.m. Oct. 13 with corrected location of hearings
A judicial panel charged with redrawing Missouri’s State House and Senate districts will begin taking comments from the public tomorrow.
The six-judge panel will draw new maps because two panels made up of Democrats and Republicans failed to reach agreements on them before the August deadline.
The hearings are scheduled Thursday from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. at the Secretary of State's office in Jefferson City, and any citizen who wants to add his or her input will have up to 10 minutes to do so. Comments can also be sent via email to redistricting@courts.mo.gov.
Missouri’s new congressional maps, meanwhile, were approved earlier this year by the General Assembly. A lawsuit was filed last month by a group of Democrats challenging the congressional maps, but State Attorney General and fellow Democrat Chris Koster filed a challenge to the suit this week, stating that it should be dismissed.