Supreme Court keeps Missouri’s 2022 congressional map

Court settles which map applies

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ordered Missouri to use its 2022 congressional districts in the 2026 general election, blocking the legislature’s 2025 map for this election. The unsigned ruling said state law requires use of the earlier boundaries.

The justices said their Sept. 10 order meant the 2022 map would govern unless the Supreme Court issued another order. The court said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Chief District Judge Stephen Clark had misunderstood that direction when they subsequently ordered use of the 2025 map.

The ruling ends three weeks in which court orders changed which map would apply five times. The Supreme Court said switching back to the 2025 districts after voting had begun would disrupt the election.

What changes for voters and election offices

Missouri election officials began accepting absentee ballots Tuesday and can continue administering the election under the 2022 boundaries. Those are the same districts used during the past two election cycles.

Voters in 28 counties will be assigned to different congressional districts in November than they were during the Aug. 4 primary, which was conducted using the 2025 map. The shift affects the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th districts.

The 2025 map changed the Kansas City-based 5th District by extending it into rural counties along the Missouri River. Returning to the 2022 boundaries reverses that change.

Before the ruling, Missouri Solicitor General Lou Capozzi told the court that using the 2025 map would cause the state to miss the federal deadline for sending ballots to military and overseas voters. Local election offices had already started processing absentee ballots while the map dispute remained unresolved.