Key facts
- The US Supreme Court on Friday declined to revive a Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri for the third time.
- The court let stand a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that prevents the new map from being used without voter approval in a referendum.
- This decision means Missouri residents will vote using the same congressional districts as in the 2024 and 2022 elections.
- Republicans had hoped the new map, used in August primaries, would help them win an additional House seat.
- The legal dispute has caused confusion for over a million Missouri voters who were shifted between districts.
- Absentee voting began Tuesday under the 2022 congressional districts.
The US Supreme Court on Friday declined to revive a Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri for the third time, ensuring voters will use existing districts for the November elections. The decision resolves a protracted legal battle over redistricting that had caused confusion for voters.
The justices turned away an attempt to use a new map backed by Donald Trump, halting a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November elections. The Supreme Court instead let stand a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled that a citizen petition prevents the new map from being used unless first approved by voters in a November referendum.
"At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the high court wrote in an unsigned opinion. The decision means Missouri residents will vote under the same congressional districts used in the 2024 and 2022 elections.
Republicans had hoped the new House map, which was used in the August primaries, could help them win an additional seat. The legal wrangling has caused confusion for more than a million potential Missouri voters, nearly one in four statewide, who were shifted from one district to another, resulting in different candidates on their ballots. Absentee voting began Tuesday under the 2022 congressional districts.