Supreme Court Weighs Missouri Congressional Map

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Missouri to use the Republican-backed 2025 congressional map in the November 2026 election, ruling that switching from the 2025 districts used in the August primary to the 2022 map for the general election would unlawfully shift about 1.4 million voters. The 2025 map is expected to produce seven Republican-held districts and one Democratic-held district, including by reshaping Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district, compared with a six-to-two split under the 2022 map. The dispute has returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time after opponents asked it to block the change, arguing that absentee ballots have already been printed and mailed under the 2022 boundaries and that switching maps could disenfranchise voters or require costly replacement ballots. Justice Brett Kavanaugh ordered state officials and Republican candidates to respond by Sept. 23, while enforcement of the appeals court ruling is delayed until Sept. 28. The Missouri Supreme Court had previously ordered use of the 2022 map and put a referendum on the 2025 map on the 2026 ballot, leaving election officials and more than a million affected voters uncertain about which boundaries will apply; affected voters have been advised to wait because congressional votes could be invalidated if the map changes.