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Missouri Redistricting Fight Returns to Supreme Court Over November Map
The justices are weighing whether ballots already printed under the 2022 map can stay in use, as Republicans seek a seventh House seat.
Opponents of a Republican-redrawn Missouri congressional map appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court for the third time in weeks, seeking an emergency intervention to block the gerrymandered boundaries ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
The emergency application follows a 2-1 ruling by a 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ordering Missouri to use the 2025 Trump-backed map, overriding state-level rulings and creating a direct jurisdictional conflict.
The 8th Circuit panel reasoned that using the older 2022 map for November after running the August primaries under the 2025 map would disenfranchise roughly 1.4 million voters whose district lines were shifted mid-cycle.
The high-stakes redistricting battle centers on Republican efforts to dismantle Kansas City's Democratic-leaning 5th Congressional District to secure an additional GOP seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Voting rights coalition People Not Politicians urged the justices to restore state rulings, warning that forcing a late map change while absentee voting is actively underway undermines state constitutional referendum protections and creates voter confusion.