Key facts
- Challengers asked the US Supreme Court to block a federal appeals court ruling that reinstated Missouri's Republican-drawn congressional map.
- The dispute marks the third time the battle over Missouri's US House of Representatives districts has reached the Supreme Court in September.
- The Missouri Supreme Court had previously ruled the Republican-drawn map could not be used until a voter referendum.
- US District Judge Stephen Clark issued an order favoring the redrawn map after a lawsuit by Republican Representative Bob Onder.
- The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, with judges appointed by Republican presidents, ordered the new map to be made permanent.
Challengers to Missouri's Republican-drawn congressional map have again petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt its use in the upcoming November midterm elections. This marks the third time the dispute has reached the nation's highest court this month.
On September 10, the Supreme Court had blocked the map, seemingly settling the issue for the elections. However, a St. Louis-based federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the new map must be used, creating further confusion.
The Missouri Supreme Court had unanimously ruled on September 3 that, under state law, the Republican-drawn map could not be used in the midterms until it was put to a voter referendum. Missouri officials sought intervention from the US Supreme Court, but were rebuffed by Justice Brett Kavanaugh on September 8.
Subsequently, US District Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary order barring any map except the redrawn 2025 one, as its lines had already been used in the August 4 party primary elections. This action followed a lawsuit by Republican US Representative Bob Onder and other plaintiffs.
The map's opponents then appealed to the US Supreme Court, which on September 10 issued an unsigned order blocking the use of the redrawn map. Following this, Republican officials stated the midterms would proceed with the state's previous congressional map from 2022.
Despite this, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes judges appointed by Republican presidents, proceeded with an appeal of Clark's now-blocked temporary order. On Monday, the appeals court upheld Clark's decision and ordered him to make his temporary order permanent, necessitating renewed Supreme Court intervention.