8th Circuit Forces Missouri to Use Controversial 2025 Map, Undermining State Sovereignty
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The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Missouri to use the 2025 congressional map for the 2026 election, overriding state decisions and fueling partisan legal battles, though the ruling is stayed pending Supreme Court action.
A three-judge panel from the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an unsigned opinion, once again allowing federal courts to interfere in Missouri’s sovereign right to manage its own elections. The panel ruled that the state’s plan to use the 2022 congressional map for the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution, insisting that only the 2025 map meets federal requirements. The court ordered the 2025 map to be used but paused its own ruling for a week to let left-wing challengers appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This decision comes on the heels of a lower-court ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, who also sided with progressive activists demanding the 2025 map, despite the Missouri Supreme Court’s earlier, more reasonable decision to pause the map pending a voter referendum. The Supreme Court had previously stayed Clark’s order on September 10, allowing the 2022 map—fairly reflecting Missouri’s conservative majority with six Republican and two Democratic seats—to remain in place for the upcoming election.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican committed to upholding the law and the will of the people, directed election officials to use the 2022 map after a delayed decision on whether to put the new map on the ballot. The delay followed the Missouri Supreme Court’s overreach in holding Hoskins in contempt for not complying with its order to hold the 2025 map pending a referendum, a move that undermines the authority of elected officials.
"Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted. Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections," said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, the group pushing for changes that would benefit Democrats.
The appeals court’s panel, including two judges appointed by President Trump, now finds itself at the center of yet another partisan legal battle over Missouri’s congressional redistricting. The left’s ongoing efforts to force changes to the map threaten to dilute the voice of Missouri’s conservative voters and disrupt the state’s electoral process.