Supreme Court blocks Missouri Republican redistricting plan for third time
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The U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency request to implement a new congressional map in Missouri, keeping the 2022 districts in place for the ongoing midterm elections.
The Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency application filed by the advocacy group People Not Politicians, rejecting a lower-court order that would have reinstated a Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map in Missouri. The high court said that changing election rules on the eve of a vote would create “electoral chaos” and noted that voting processes, including ballot distribution to military and overseas voters, had already begun.
The ruling leaves the state using the 2022 map, which currently allocates six seats to Republicans and two to Democrats. The Court emphasized that lower federal courts should not alter a state’s election rules close to an election, citing that “the election is not merely upcoming; it has already started.”
The 2025 map, which would have removed a Democratic seat held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, had previously been upheld by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but was never implemented. The Missouri Supreme Court had earlier ordered the 2022 districts to remain in effect and held Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for proceeding with the 2025 map despite known risks.
The dispute originated after opponents gathered enough signatures to trigger a state referendum on the new map, which under Missouri law suspends the law pending the vote. After a series of state and federal rulings, the Supreme Court’s latest decision restores the status quo for the ongoing election cycle.