Missouri Asks Supreme Court to Restore Trump-Backed Congressional Map

Missouri appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to allow the use of new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump in the fast-approaching midterm election.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's office filed an emergency application, warning that "A federal-election-administration disaster is unfolding in Missouri." The appeal seeks to halt a Missouri Supreme Court decision that blocked the new map and ordered a statewide vote in November on whether to keep or reject it. The new congressional boundaries were drawn to help Republicans win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in November's midterm elections.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a referendum petition, submitted with over 300,000 signatures, effectively suspended the new districts, retroactive to last December, pending voter approval. Although the new districts were used in the August primary, the state's top court said the previous districts enacted after the 2020 census must be used in the general election.

Hanaway stated that no other court has ordered congressional maps changed after a primary but before a general election, calling it an extraordinary remedy. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the referendum petition on primary Election Day, asserting Missouri's constitution does not allow such petitions on congressional redistricting. A lower court sided with Hoskins, but the state Supreme Court overturned his decision, ruling the petition was legal, sufficient, and timely.

This is part of a national redistricting battle that Trump launched last year. President Trump condemned the Missouri Supreme Court's decision on Thursday, calling it ridiculous. Hanaway's office expressed uncertainty about whether the state can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election. State law sets a Tuesday deadline to make changes to the November ballot. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who hears appeals from the region, asked critics of the new map to respond to the appeal by Monday.