Missouri asks Supreme Court to overturn block of new congressional map
Missouri is requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the state Supreme Court’s decision that blocked the implementation of a new congressional map ahead of the upcoming 2026 elections. The Missouri Supreme Court had ordered the use of a previous map, adopted in 2022, and mandated a referendum on whether to approve the new HB 1 map, which was enacted in August 2025. This ruling has caused controversy as the August primary was held under the new boundaries, and changing the map now could create confusion and serve as an election administration challenge. the state argued that the courtS decision creates unprecedented chaos, rendering the recent primary election meaningless. Conversely, the Missouri Supreme court upheld that the referendum was legal and that the 2022 map must remain in effect for the 2026 elections, delaying the implementation of the new district boundaries. The dispute primarily involves the GOP, as the new map favored Republican holds and was part of a broader effort to redraw districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Missouri is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the state Supreme Court’s blockage of a new congressional map ahead of the November general election.
In an emergency application to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Missouri officials argued that the state’s highest court has created a “federal-election-administration disaster” by ordering the state to revert to its previous congressional map after Missouri already conducted its August primary under the new boundaries.
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In August 2025, the Missouri General Assembly adopted a new congressional map, known as the “HB 1 map.” That map was used about one year later in the August 2026 primary election, in which about 1.2 million Missourians voted.
But on Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state to use a different map adopted in 2022 for the imminent 2026 general election. The court also ordered Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to place a referendum on the November ballot asking voters whether to approve HB 1.
The unanimous decision means Missouri will use its previous congressional map, drawn after the 2020 census, for the 2026 midterm elections.
By ruling that voters should decide whether HB 1 takes effect, the court reversed decisions by Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and a lower court that had sought to keep the referendum off the ballot and allow elections to proceed under the new boundaries.
The state argued the ruling has created an unprecedented election-administration problem because the primary was already conducted under the HB 1 map.
“No court in American history has ever given such an extraordinary remedy,” the emergency application said, arguing that the ruling “inflicts unprecedented chaos on Missouri.”
“Looking backwards,” the filing argued, “the order renders a completed federal Primary Election utterly pointless” by moving hundreds of thousands of voters into new districts and forcing them to vote for candidates they had no role in selecting.
“Looking forwards, the State is genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election,” the filing states.
The state argues that the Missouri Supreme Court “simply ignored” a lower court’s factual finding that changing the congressional maps at this stage of the election process would be impossible, citing evidence presented during the case.
The Missouri Supreme Court, however, said the state’s concerns about confusion, expense, and practical difficulties did not change the legal status of HB 1. The court ruled that the referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, meaning the new map had not taken effect and that the 2022 congressional map remained in force.
Missouri Supreme Court forbids GOP-drawn map from appearing on ballot pending vote
Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats, and the new lines were designed to give the party an advantage in the 7th Congressional District.
The court battle stems from a congressional map approved by Missouri lawmakers last year as part of President Donald Trump’s push for Republican-controlled states to redraw their congressional districts before the 2026 elections.
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