Supreme Court blocks use of GOP-favored map in Missouri — again

The Supreme Court on Friday blocked a directive for Missouri Republicans to use their favored congressional map , again, making clear to officials they must return to an old design for November after the state’s messy redistricting battle.

The decision is a blow for the GOP, which fought to use a more favorable 7-1 House map in time for the November midterms instead of the older 6-2 map.

Republicans had passed their 7-1 congressional lines last year and used it during their August primaries, but the high court’s decision means the Show Me State will now be using a different set of maps for the general election.

“In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election,” the court wrote in its unsigned opinion.

It’s the third time the battle reached the Supreme Court in as many weeks. In each round, the GOP has lost. The justices said ruling otherwise at this point would “usher in electoral chaos” since ballots are already being mailed.

The Show Me State has been roiled by several different lawsuits regarding Republicans’ new 7-1 House map, which was created amid pressure from President Trump and national Republicans as the GOP has sought to add pickup opportunities to the lower chamber ahead of the fall.

Republicans sought to dismantle Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) Kansas City-based district. But Cleaver appears poised to win reelection with the state reverting back to using its old lines.

The legal battle plunged into chaos earlier this month when Missouri’s top court ruled that a referendum over the congressional lines will now go before voters, meaning that the new 7-1 House map does not go into effect until it’s passed.

By that point, Missouri had already used the design to select primary winners. Several GOP congressional candidates began convincing a federal judge that reverting so late to the old map would be unconstitutional.

This Supreme Court previously lifted the judge’s order, appearing to signal that Republicans wouldn’t be able to redistrict in time for November. But that didn’t stop the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Monday, it issued a new ruling effectively reinstating the state’s 7-1 map. It was set to take effect next week.

That’s what led to the latest round at the Supreme Court. The referendum organizer fighting the GOP brought the new ruling back to the justices, seeking an emergency intervention.

“Given this Court’s two prior orders in this litigation, our conclusion that this was error should come as no surprise,” the court wrote Friday as it granted his request. The organizer emphasized that election officials had already started mailing out military and overseas ballots Saturday using the 6-2 House map. The Supreme Court’s decision allows election officials to proceed as usual, with no need to make last-minute changes to their ballots before the general election.

However, the late litigation is frustrating for candidates and voters. Election officials and contenders are racing to educate voters about who’s on their ballot and which congressional district they’re in with just weeks out from the election.

Politically, the Supreme Court’s decision has little impact on the national redistricting math as Republicans had only sought to add one pickup opportunity to their column in Missouri.

“At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the court wrote in its opinion.