Missouri Redistricting Battle Back Before Supreme Court After Conflicting Rulings

Opponents of a 2025 Missouri congressional map late on Sept. 9 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal judge’s order that allows the state to hold midterm congressional elections on Nov. 3 using the map, which favors Republicans.

The new emergency filing came after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit earlier in the day issued a one-page order after the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 8 declined to restore the 2025 electoral map in a separate case arising from a Sept. 3 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that barred use of the map in the Nov. 3 midterms.

“The motion for a stay pending appeal is denied because we either lack jurisdiction over the appeal or, based on the briefing we have so far, the stay factors have not been met,” the panel said.

Minutes after the nation’s highest court acted on Sept. 8, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark issued a temporary restraining order saying Missouri officials had no choice but to use the 2025 map because doing otherwise would violate the U.S. Constitution. State officials said they will follow Clark’s ruling.

Because of the contradictory rulings, it is unclear if the Republican-dominated Legislature’s 2025 map would be used in November, or if the old 2022 map would be used.

The 2022 map was drawn after the 2020 Census to in a manner that gave Republicans a 6–2 edge over Democrats. The 2025 map, which involved a mid-decade redistricting, was designed to provide Republicans a 7–1 advantage over Democrats.

A unanimous Missouri Supreme Court ruling on Sept. 3 blocked the 2025 election map, which is backed by President Donald Trump, from being used in the midterms.

The state’s high court held that the 2025 map must first be approved by voters in a November referendum before it can take effect. The court ordered that the referendum question be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The state court said the 2025 map approved by the state Legislature “is not the law and has never been the law.”

“There is only one valid congressional redistricting in effect—the congressional redistricting the General Assembly established in 2022,” the court said.

This is a developing story that will be updated.