State lawmakers and two special commissions can begin their work redrawing congressional and legislative district lines even before the U.S. Census Bureau gives the state all the information needed to finish the job.
They are required by the U.S. and Missouri constitutions to redraw the state's internal political boundaries, based on the official census.
Because of the need to reduce the state's congressional delegation by one district, much attention and speculation already focuses on where that cut should come.