A case over whether Secretary of State Denny Hoskins can throw out thousands of signatures for a redistricting referendum is effectively on hold.

The group People Not Politicians sued Hoskins after he said he would not count signatures collected before the middle of October. That group then turned in more than 300,000 signatures, likely more than enough to make the ballot even without ones gathered before mid-October.

Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled Friday that he is pausing the case, pointing out that it may be moot if the referendum qualifies for the November 2026 ballot.

“Currently, to the court’s knowledge, no signatures have been officially accepted or rejected. Conceivably, this could be enough signatures to place the referendum on the ballot thereby mooting the issue

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