John,

Ever wondered why Missouri is called the “Show-Me” state? 

Legend has it that in 1899, Missouri congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver coined the term in a speech, when he said: "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." 

The name stuck. And that’s because Missourians are known for being no-nonsense, for not taking things on faith alone. They want to see what’s going on behind the curtain.

And what’s going on in Missouri isn’t pretty. After ramming through a wildly gerrymandered map against the will of the voters in September, Missouri Republicans have tried every trick in the book to stop a citizen-led ballot measure that would throw out their map. 

As Democracy Docket recently reported, Missouri Republicans have:

• Tried to block the referendum in the courts, in an attempt to take away voters’ ability to reject redistricted maps 


• Sought to invalidate tens of thousands of petition signatures


• Crafted misleading language to confuse voters about what the ballot measure does


• Sent deceptive text messages to persuade voters to remove their names from the petition


• Coordinated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to intimidate those collecting signatures.

That doesn’t sound remotely like the transparency and honesty that Missourians want and expect from their elected officials — but that’s what we’re up against: dirty tricks all designed to undermine democracy and prevent voters from having the final say. 

If we are able to beat back this gerrymandered map through direct democracy, it will send a powerful message that voters reject these Republican power grabs, and we will not be silenced. Will you make a donation to help fight for fair maps in Missouri and beyond?

Join us and let’s show them everything we’ve got.

Thank you,

Claire