Author | Lightnews

Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · 7d

#IndivisibleKC
#MartinCity, #Missouri
14 October 2025
A volunteer for Respect Missouri Voters gathered signatures at the pop-up event on petition to protect the state's citizen's initiative petition process (which the MAGA-owned & operated state legislature has repeatedly undermined.
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Photo: A volunteer for Respect Missouri Voters (RMOV) stands with a demonstrator at a pop-up demonstration organized by Indivisible KC at 135th Street and State Line Road in Martin City, MO, on 14 October 2025. The RMOV volunteer wears a yellow t-shirt supporting the organization, holds a broad, jury-rigged, clipboard for the group's petition to protect the state's citizen's initiative petition process, and stands beside a yard-sign that matches her t-shirt.
You can learn what *you* can do to support this initiative and where you can do it here:
https://respectmovoters.org/
Her pro-democracy ally wears a broadbrim straw hat and green t-shirt and peeks over the top edge of a hand-made sign that reads, "[in big all caps letters] Hands Off Our Freedoms" and "[in small all caps letters] Right to Assemble | Speech | Press | Assembly | Free Speech | Free Press | Religion | Petition."

Reposted by Jen McKanry

The Kansas City Star @kansascity.com · 27d

“I think it feels like these two shows will be a thing that people talk about in Kansas City for a long time to come.”

Missouri artists team up for Chappell Roan mural in the heart of Kansas City

“I think it feels like these two shows will be a thing that people talk about in Kansas City for a long time to come.”

bit.ly

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · 27d

100%

Respect MO Voters @respectmovoters.org · 29d

"This is a nonpartisan issue, and I encourage everyone who values fairness, accountability, and the principle that voters, not politicians, should have the final say, to get involved."

^ this!

respectMOvoters.org

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Sep 7

This is beyond messed up. This is completely unacceptable.

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · Sep 6

The President of the United States just essentially declared a war on Chicago because — wait for it! — Black and Brown people live here.

This is not normal. This is not okay. And we are going to fucking fight back.

A TruthSocial post from Donald Trump, featuring an AI generated image of him in front of Chicago burning and under invasion with the words “Chipocalypse Now” near him stylized like the poster for the film Apocalypse Now. The text accompanying the post reads “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning…’ Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR 🚁🚁🚁”

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Sep 7

Proposed changes to Missouri’s initiative petition process would create a hard threshold for passage share.google/fVOrpaTJX7a9... #MoLeg voting on this Sept 10. Fight back, help #RespectMOVoters preserve the citizen initiative process. #resist #protest #SaveMyVote

Proposed changes to Missouri’s initiative petition process would create a hard threshold for passage

Last November, abortion, paid sick leave and sports betting were all passed through initiative petitions, but right now, lawmakers in Jefferson City are considering a change to the benchmark, which wo...

share.google

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Sep 6

Just outrageous. But then these days it feels like everything is.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch @stltoday.com · Sep 5

League leaders blamed a new policy from the administration of President Donald Trump, and said their volunteers had to stand on a sidewalk outside the building.

Group barred from registering voters in St. Louis courthouse after naturalization ceremony

League leaders blamed a new policy from the administration of President Donald Trump, and said their volunteers had to stand on a sidewalk outside the building.

www.stltoday.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Respect MO Voters @respectmovoters.org · Sep 5

5%!?! FIVE PERCENT!??

Tell a friend about our amendment to block these attacks on the will of the people in Missouri - we start collecting signatures on September 10th!

respectMOvoters.org

Missouri Independent @missouriindependent.com · Sep 5

As few as 5% of voters could defeat initiative petitions under Missouri GOP legislation #moleg #mogov

As few as 5% of voters could defeat initiative petitions under Missouri GOP legislation • Missouri Independent

A Missouri House committee passed a proposal Thursday to place restrictions on the initiative petition process.

missouriindependent.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Justyn Pippins @justynpippins.bsky.social · Sep 4

Keep working

www.kmbc.com/article/miss...

NAACP lawsuit challenges Missouri governor’s special session on redistricting, ballot measures

The Missouri NAACP and two residents filed suit to block Gov. Mike Kehoe’s call for a special session on redistricting and initiative petitions.

www.kmbc.com

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Sep 4

If you are tired of MoLeg walking all over us, join @respectmovoters.org who will be launching their signature gathering efforts Sept 10 to keep the citizen initiative safe. respectmovoters.org/launch-day

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

LaRoeBoat @johnlaroe.bsky.social · Sep 3

#WorkersOverBillionaires at the #LaborDayRally in #KansasCity
Other Coverage 2/5

Hundreds protest in Kansas City against gerrymandering, ‘attacks on democracy’

A major concern among the protesters was President Donald Trump’s calls for Missouri lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map.

amp.kansascity.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

St. Louis Public Radio @stlpublicradio.bsky.social · Aug 29

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is calling state lawmakers back to Jefferson City to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts.

The decision follows President Donald Trump’s redistricting demands before the 2026 midterm elections.

Missouri will join Trump-pressured redistricting push to save House GOP majority

Gov. Mike Kehoe’s decision to bring lawmakers back to Jefferson City may be a major turning point in the state’s recent political history.

www.stlpr.org

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 30

This plan to rig the 2026 election by splitting up cities into separate districts is just dirty politics. Let you voice be herd. Write your MO Leg now! Or join one of many groups pushing back. Make sure your vote continues to count!!

Missouri Independent @missouriindependent.com · Aug 29

Missouri governor calls lawmakers back to Capitol to gerrymander congressional map

The special legislative session will also include a proposal to change the initiative petition process in a way that would mean as few as 23% of voters could defeat a statewide ballot measure. #moleg #mogov

Missouri governor calls lawmakers back to Capitol to gerrymander congressional map • Missouri Independent

Missouri lawmakers will return to the Capitol to gerrymander the state’s congressional map in the hopes of creating a new Republican seat.

missouriindependent.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Wrap02 @tigralady.bsky.social · Aug 30

The petition “is to ensure that no matter if vouchers exist, it doesn’t come at the expense of public school students’ quality of education,” he said. “All (the amendment) says is that the students have a guaranteed right to a quality public education.”

missouriindependent.com/briefs/lawsu...

Lawsuits challenge ‘deceptive’ summaries for Missouri public education ballot measures • Missouri Independent

Two public educations campaigns have filed lawsuits against the Missouri Secretary of State, alleging he wrote deceptive ballot summaries.

missouriindependent.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Gma4paws @gma4paws.bsky.social · Aug 30

@molegtracker.bsky.social Mad about unconstitutional redistricting? Mad about the politicians taking away paid sick leave? Want to stop them? Check out RespectMOVoters.org and JOIN US!

Respect MO Voters

RespectMOVoters.org

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 29

There will be events all over Missouri to Launch Signature Collection. Won't you join one of them?

Respect MO Voters @respectmovoters.org · Aug 26

Launch Day is coming! Join us at one of our events on September 10th all over Missouri!

Visit respectmovoters.org/launch-day to find an event near you!

#respectMOvoters #missouri #moleg

A Respect MO Voters graphic to promote Launch Day events across Missouri on September 10th - find an event near you at RespectMoVoters.org/launch-day

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

LaRoeBoat @johnlaroe.bsky.social · Aug 22

#KansasCity, 20 August 2025:
More than 500 citizens attended a standing-room-only #EmergencyMeeting hosted by #IBEW Local 124 to #organize their #resistance to a redistricting scheme engineered by the #MagaRegime to silence their voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. (please see alt text)

Photo: A well-lit union hall (home to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) is filled with chairs, almost all of them filled, with people standing all along the back wall and in the entrances, in the moments before the meeting begins.
The meeting was called on short notice shortly after it was announced that Missouri Governor and MAGA bootlicker Mike "Yes Sir May I Have Another" Kehoe intended to call a special session of the state's MAGA-dominated legislature to redraw the state's already heavily gerrymandered federal congressional districts to squeeze one more MAGA seat out of the state, by order of a tweet from the regime's boss.
The MAGA plan seeks to end Kansas City's representation in the U.S. House by splitting the city in two and diluting each half of the city's voters with MAGA voters in surrounding rural and suburban areas.

MAGA's last gerrymander of the state, just three years ago, after the most recent U.S. Census, left Democrats (33.50% of voters who registered with a party affiliation) with just two (25%) of the state's eight seats in the House, giving MAGA (46.88% of voters who registered with a party affiliation) the remaining six seats (75% of the state's representation).*
The new, improved MAGA scheme, launched by tweet just three years later and five years before the next U.S. Census, would, they predict, cut representation of Missouri Democratic voters in the House in half, gifting the grifters seven (87.5%) of the eight seats, even if (as they expect) they attract far fewer voters while leaving Democrats with just one seat (12.5% of the state's representation), even if Democrats receive substantially more votes in the midterms (again, as MAGA expects, given their disastrous performance on virtually all issues).
Thus the alarm. Thus the emergency meeting.
_____
* https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/mo

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · Aug 26

🚨BREAKING: In a landmark victory for voters, a Utah judge struck down the state Legislature’s gerrymandered congressional map and reinstated the citizen-led redistricting reforms voters approved in 2018. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Utah Strikes Down Gerrymandered Map, Reinstates Voter-Approved Redistricting Reforms

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Respect MO Voters @respectmovoters.org · Aug 15

It's countdown to launch! We'll be kicking off our signature gathering campaign on September 10th with events around the state. More details are coming soon!

Make sure you're signed up so you'll be trained and ready to go! respectMOvoters.org/gather

A save the date graphic for Respect MO Voters Launch Day on Wednesday, September 10th. We're hosting events around the state to celebrate the start of our signature gathering campaign - more details are coming soon! Check back at RespectMoVoters.org to find an event near you soon. The graphic has snapshots of Respect MO Voters volunteers at different events around the state, many of them are wearing Respect Voters t-shirts. There's a little rocket and some stars in the background to complement the launch theme.

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

LaRoeBoat @johnlaroe.bsky.social · Aug 17

The Trump Regime has issued an edict to the #Missouri state governor & legislature demanding that they gerrymander the state's congressional districts to end representation of its two largest cities. To protect your votes: Attend an Emergency Meeting in #KansasCity 20 August (this Wednesday).

Photo w/Text:
U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) speaking forcefully at an event on the north lawn of the World War I Memorial on 10 May 2025.
The text quotes from his remarks, We are going to get up. We are going to fight. And we are going to WIN!"
If successful, the Trump Regime's demand for further gerrymandering of the state would slice & dice the state's two largest cities to insure the solidly MAGA rural areas around them would choose their representatives instead of the cities' residents. Both of the state's two current Black representatives, who represent those cities, would see their districts removed. Congressman Cleaver represents Kansas City.
At least five pro-democracy organizations have joined to call an Emergency Meeting this Wednesday (20 August) to protect those districts. The date, time and location are included in the text of the photo:
"Emergency Meeting
"20 August, 6:30 pm
"301E 103rd Terr"
Additional text encourages YOU to "Organize to protect the representation of Missouri's cities and the federal level from Trump's Missouri MAGA Legislature as they seek to end our democracy."
So really: Do Not Allow These Fascists to Still Your Voice.
(Thank you for your attention to this matter."

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 17

@respectmovoters.org So great to see our volunteers coming together to do this important work FOR THE PEOPLE. Thank you KC team! Thank you @johnlaroe.bsky.social for the great photos!

LaRoeBoat @johnlaroe.bsky.social · Aug 16

Coffee Morning Start your Weekend Meetup
#KansasCity, #Missouri (1/2)

15 members & friends of #RespectMissouriVoters met this morning (16 August 2025) in a midtown cafe to discuss volunteer training options & #LocalResistance opportunities.
(see alt text for links to sign ups)

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 12

Targeted by Missouri senator, immigrant-rights leader delivered a message to Latinos www.newsfromthestates.com/article/targ...

Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 12

@respectmovoters.org Great work RMV volunteers! We love you.

LaRoeBoat @johnlaroe.bsky.social · Aug 3

#RageAgainstTheRegime
#KansasCity, #Missouri
2 August 2025
Brookside Blue & Respect Missouri Voters staffed tables at the event.

Photo: People staff a table at the Rage Against the Regime event for Brookside Blue: Katie Nelson & Nicholez Reed

Photo: People staff a table at the Rage Against the Regime event for Respect Missouri Voters: Amy, Amy, & Aria

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Aug 2

@respectmovoters.org Great interview. If you're not sure yet why we need this initiative, listed to this podcast.

KCUR (Kansas City's best news source) @kcur.org · Aug 1

The group, Respect Missouri Voters, wants to put a measure on the November 2026 ballot that would require a bipartisan supermajority — 75 or 80% of lawmakers — to overturn a law passed by initiative petition. https://loom.ly/dEBTRAI

Missouri organizers want to make it harder for lawmakers to overturn voter-led ballot measures

Missouri lawmakers overturned a paid sick leave law, and advanced an amendment to overturn abortion rights, only six months after voters originally passed both measures. Now, the bipartisan group Respect Missouri Voters wants to put a new initiative on the ballot to prevent that from happening.

www.kcur.org

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Jen McKanry @mckanryj.bsky.social · Jul 31

Undoing the vote of Missourians without accountability or repercussions missouriindependent.com/2025/07/29/u...

Undoing the vote of Missourians without accountability or repercussions • Missouri Independent

The majority of Missourians can vote for something, but the elected officials we send to Jefferson City don't care about overturning it.

missouriindependent.com

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Reposted by Jen McKanry

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · Jul 30

A forum on voter threats to fair elections, held Wednesday by Senate Democrats and headlined by Eric Holder and North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs warned about a coordinated attack on American democracy, while insisting that it hasn’t succeeded yet, and that elections still matter.

Fair Elections Are in Grave Danger, Democrats Warn

www.democracydocket.com

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