Supreme Court Again Reviews GOP Gerrymandering Scheme in Missouri
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The U.S. Supreme Court is once more considering an emergency appeal over a Missouri congressional map blatantly engineered to entrench Republican power, after a federal appeals court shockingly ordered its reinstatement despite earlier judicial intervention.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court faced its third emergency appeal regarding Missouri's congressional redistricting plan, a map shamelessly designed to favor Republican candidates at the expense of fair representation. A federal appeals court, disregarding prior Supreme Court action, ordered the state to revert to the GOP-backed map, undermining the earlier halt issued on Sept. 10.
Earlier this week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied an appeal by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, upholding the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision that rightfully demands voter approval before any new districts can be imposed. The high court has given opponents of the undemocratic map until midday Wednesday to respond.
The contested map would carve up a Kansas City-area district currently represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, threatening to hand Republicans seven of Missouri’s eight House seats—an egregious power grab. This legal tug-of-war has left over a million voters in limbo about their districts, while absentee voting continues under the 2022 lines drawn after the last census.
“The state must use its previous map until voters decide otherwise,” the Missouri Supreme Court wisely ruled.
Missouri’s redistricting debacle is among the nation’s most drawn-out and complex, emblematic of a wider right-wing push to rig electoral boundaries in the wake of President Trump’s calls for Republican-led states to manipulate maps ahead of the 2024 elections.