Appeals court ruling tees up Supreme Court battle for new Missouri map
A federal appeals court in Missouri ruled that the state’s new congressional map, passed in 2025 adn favoring Republicans, must be used in the November elections, pending further review by the Supreme Court. The case has involved ongoing disputes,with the Missouri Supreme Court initially ordering the old maps (2022 version) to be used,while a U.S. District Judge later ordered the new maps to be implemented. The appeals court upheld the use of the 2025 maps, asserting that using different maps for different elections violates the Constitution. This legal battle puts Missouri’s upcoming elections in a state of flux, as voters have already cast ballots based on the 2025 maps, but authorities may revert to the 2022 maps, creating potential legal and logistical complications. The controversy reflects deep partisan divisions and ongoing challenges over redistricting laws and procedures.
A federal appeals court in Missouri on Monday ruled that the state’s newest congressional map must be used in the November elections, setting the issue up for another hearing before the Supreme Court.
The battle over the state’s new map, which favors Republicans and was passed by the legislature in 2025, has persisted for months. Critics believe it should be passed by voters in a statewide referendum before use and that the old 2022 maps should be used for the November election.
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Last month, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the old maps to be used this fall. Days later, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark ruled the new maps should be used, in a temporary restraining order that was affirmed this week by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The development puts the case on the path to be heard by the Supreme Court, which had put Clark’s ruling on hold and declined to block the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month.
“This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution. Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law,” the appeals court wrote on Monday. “The Constitution does not permit Missouri to use a different congressional district map in the November 2026 general election than it used in the August 2026 primary election.”
The three-judge appeals court panel is composed of Republican-appointed judges, including two picked by President Donald Trump.
Since the appeals court put its ruling on hold for a week to allow time for an appeal, Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins are expected to ask for Supreme Court intervention to block the new maps again. The 2025 map in question redrew the political lines to give Republicans a 7-1 advantage over Democrats in the House, versus the GOP’s 6-2 advantage in the 2022 maps.
While Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) and state Sen. Rick Brattin have led the charge in the courts for the 2025 maps to be used, Hoskins has said he is going to use the 2022 maps in November given the Supreme Court’s previous direction.
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Taken either way, the saga holds messy implications for Missouri’s elections this year.
Voters cast ballots according to the 2025 maps in the August primaries, spelling difficulties if the state ends up using the 2022 maps for the November elections. If it ends up having to use the 2025 maps this fall in a last-minute switch from the current plan, that would also entail challenges, as many residents have already cast early votes in accordance with Hoskins’s move to use the 2022 maps in the general election, and many ballots have already been printed using the older maps.
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