US Supreme Court blocks Trump-backed Missouri congressional map, reverts to 2022 districts

More than 1 million Missouri voters affected (Visitors at the US Supreme Court. Reuters image)

The US Supreme Court on Friday rejected an attempt to use a new Missouri congressional map backed by President Donald Trump, potentially bringing an end to a long-running redistricting dispute as absentee voting gets underway in the state. The justices halted a ruling by a federal appeals court that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. The Supreme Court instead allowed a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court to stand. The state court had ruled earlier this month that a citizen petition prevents the new congressional map from being used unless it is first approved by voters in a November referendum. The decision means Missouri voters will use the same congressional districts that were in place for the 2022 and 2024 elections.

Why the Supreme Court rejected the new map

Republicans had hoped the new House map, which was already used during Missouri's August primaries, would help them gain an additional seat as part of a nationwide redistricting effort backed by Trump ahead of the midterm elections. A panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that changing congressional districts between the primary and general elections would violate the US Constitution. The panel directed a district judge to prevent Missouri from using any map other than the new districts. However, the appeals court delayed the order from taking effect until the following Monday, giving Missouri time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's latest decision now leaves the earlier Missouri Supreme Court ruling in place, meaning the new map cannot be used for the November general election unless voters approve it in the referendum.

More than 1 million Missouri voters affected

The legal dispute has created uncertainty for more than 1 million potential Missouri voters, nearly one in four statewide, who were shifted from one congressional district to another under the new map. The changes also meant some voters faced different candidates on their ballots. Absentee voting began Tuesday under the 2022 congressional districts, although some local election officials had urged voters to wait because of the uncertainty over which map would ultimately be used. With Friday's Supreme Court decision, voters will use the existing congressional boundaries for the November election.

How Trump's redistricting push reshaped Kansas City

Republicans currently hold six of Missouri's eight US House seats. At the urging of Trump and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri lawmakers last September approved revised congressional districts intended to help Republicans win seven seats in the midterms. The new map made major changes to a Kansas City-based district held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Under the revised boundaries, parts of Kansas City were shifted into neighbouring districts represented by Republican incumbents. The remainder of Cleaver's 5th Congressional District was extended eastward into rural Republican areas. An Associated Press estimate found that about 59% of potential voters in the district were new under the revised boundaries. The changes also affected voters in most of Missouri's other congressional districts. Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won a six-way Republican primary under the revised map. Both remain the candidates for the November general election despite the congressional boundaries reverting to their previous lines. Brattin was among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that resulted in the 8th Circuit ruling and the latest two appeals to the Supreme Court. Republican Rep. Bob Onder and two other voters were also plaintiffs.

Missouri redistricting triggered multiple legal challenges

At least 16 lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts over Missouri's congressional redistricting. The dispute has become the longest and most complex among roughly a dozen states that sought to alter their US House districts over the past year. The new map survived most of the legal challenges, including cases arguing that mid-decade redistricting violated the Missouri Constitution and that the revised districts failed to meet requirements for compactness. In one case, the Missouri Supreme Court allowed the new districts to be used while election officials verified signatures on a petition seeking to put the map before voters in a statewide referendum. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until the legal deadline on August 4, the day the new districts were used in the primary, to reject the petition. He argued that referendum petitions were not permitted for congressional redistricting. The Missouri Supreme Court later ruled on September 3 that the referendum petition was valid. It ordered Hoskins not to use the new map and directed election officials to use the districts adopted in 2022 following the last census.

Supreme Court has intervened repeatedly

The US Supreme Court allowed the Missouri Supreme Court's September 3 ruling to stand on September 8. Minutes later, however, US District Judge Stephen Clark issued a conflicting order favouring the new congressional map. The Supreme Court blocked Clark's order from taking effect on September 10. That same day, the Missouri Supreme Court temporarily held Hoskins in contempt after he told local election authorities to use the new map following Clark's order. The dispute continued when the 8th Circuit considered an appeal of Clark's blocked order and ruled Monday in favour of the Trump-backed map. That ruling led to the latest appeal before the US Supreme Court. Friday's decision is the third time the Supreme Court has intervened to block efforts to use the new congressional map, leaving Missouri's previous congressional boundaries in place for the November midterm election.