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Supreme Court to Hear Missouri Redistricting Case Again
Confirmed
In Short: The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Missouri redistricting case for the third time.
The Supreme Court could act at any time, with the Elias Law Group representing the pro-voting parties in the case.
Missouri referendum proponents made their final pitch to the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, arguing that lower federal courts cannot sidestep the justices’ previous order halting use of the state’s Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map.
In a reply brief, People Not Politicians and executive director Richard von Glahn accused Missouri officials and Republican candidates of largely ignoring their central argument: The Supreme Court’s Sept. 10 stay.
Referendum proponents say that injunction grants “in every meaningful sense” the same relief the Supreme Court already stayed.
The applicants argue that it is the 8th Circuit’s ruling — not another Supreme Court stay — that would now force election officials to change maps.
A federal judge in Missouri ruled in favor of the 2025 map last month, but the Supreme Court put a stay on that ruling just two weeks ago.
Opponents of the map issued an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court late Tuesday night after the St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the new map on Monday.
The case began when Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition for the 2025 map to be placed on the ballot for a vote in 2026.
Hoskins then appealed the case to the Supreme Court, but Kavanaugh declined to hear his request on Sept. 4.
Clark ruled in favor of those candidates and issued an order requiring that the 2025 maps be used in this year's elections, effectively contradicting the state Supreme Court.
The court issued an unsigned order blocking Clark's order until the Eighth Circuit issued a formal ruling in the case.
The Eighth Circuit then fast-tracked the case and ruled in favor of the 2025 map.
What this adds
The Supreme Court's previous rejections and the ongoing legal battles highlight the complexity and contentiousness of the redistricting process in Missouri.
Background
A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that Missouri must use its Republican-favored 2025 redistricting map in November, despite the Supreme Court declining twice this month to intervene in the dispute.
A federal appeals court has reinstated a Republican-backed redistricting map for Missouri's November elections, despite previous rejections by the Supreme Court.
What's confirmed
- The Supreme Court could act at any time, with the Elias Law Group representing the pro-voting parties in the case.
- Missouri referendum proponents made their final pitch to the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday, arguing that lower federal courts cannot sidestep the justices’ previous order halting use of the state’s Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map.
- In a reply brief, People Not Politicians and executive director Richard von Glahn accused Missouri officials and Republican candidates of largely ignoring their central argument: The Supreme Court’s Sept. 10 stay.
- Referendum proponents say that injunction grants “in every meaningful sense” the same relief the Supreme Court already stayed.
- The applicants argue that it is the 8th Circuit’s ruling — not another Supreme Court stay — that would now force election officials to change maps.
- A federal judge in Missouri ruled in favor of the 2025 map last month, but the Supreme Court put a stay on that ruling just two weeks ago.
- Opponents of the map issued an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court late Tuesday night after the St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the new map on Monday.
- The case began when Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition for the 2025 map to be placed on the ballot for a vote in 2026.
- Hoskins then appealed the case to the Supreme Court, but Kavanaugh declined to hear his request on Sept. 4.
- Clark ruled in favor of those candidates and issued an order requiring that the 2025 maps be used in this year's elections, effectively contradicting the state Supreme Court.
- The court issued an unsigned order blocking Clark's order until the Eighth Circuit issued a formal ruling in the case.
- The Eighth Circuit then fast-tracked the case and ruled in favor of the 2025 map.
What's still developing
- Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith has the latest on the key storylines shaping the race to the 2026 midterm elections, including the political fallout from the Supreme Court's Missouri redistricting decision, the battle for control of Congress, and the issues driving voters as both parties intensify their push toward November on 'Special Report.' The U.S.
- The divisive redistricting map drawn in 2025 would grant Republicans an additional seat in the House of Representatives if it is put in place ahead of the 2026 elections.
- The development is the latest in a roller-coaster ride of legal decisions that have seen the new map fly up and down between federal and state courts, the Supreme Court and the Missouri Supreme Court.