Missouri congressional map returns to U.S. Supreme Court

A third Supreme Court appeal

The fight over Missouri’s congressional districts returned to the U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday through an emergency appeal. The filing followed a federal appeals court order directing the state to revive a new map backed by President Trump, even though the Supreme Court had halted such a move on Sept. 10.

The justices have now blocked efforts to use the new districts in November twice. The court gave supporters of the map until midday Wednesday to respond to the latest appeal.

State court required the previous map

Earlier in the week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected an appeal from Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, leaving a Missouri Supreme Court decision in effect. The state court ruled that the new districts could not take effect unless Missouri voters approved them in a statewide referendum.

That decision required the state to continue using the congressional districts adopted in 2022 after the latest census. Absentee voting is already underway using those districts. More than 1 million potential voters could be moved among districts if the new boundaries take effect.

What the new districts would change

The new map significantly changes the Kansas City-area district represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. It was drawn to help Republicans gain another U.S. House seat; Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight seats and hope to hold seven under the revised boundaries.

Missouri is among roughly a dozen states that sought to change congressional districts between censuses during the past year. Congressional maps are ordinarily redrawn once a decade after the census, but Trump urged Republican-led states to pursue new boundaries before the midterm elections.